Sand and Snow
by Namikaze Okami
Summary: Where the desert and the cold mountains meet, sand and snow - total opposites from separate worlds - are brought together through a strange twist in fate. Although her clan was all but forgotten, a remnant of the past emerges to remind her of who - or what - she truly is. Meeting the feared jinchuriki was one thing - but becoming his friend and confidante was another.
1. A Chance Encounter (Part I)

**_Author's note (2020/03/31):_** Just a heads up and a clarification - **as this is a longfic that is currently over 300,000 words (and ongoing), there will inevitably be** **edits coming for earlier chapters until the fic is** **complete**. On a good note - the gist of the chapters that are currently posted are remaining the same, I am mostly just adding more details (meat to the bones, if you will). I also recently added some song recs and character name-meanings at the end-notes of some chapters as a fun extra.

Writing this ~300k fic kind of broke me creatively, so if you enjoyed it I'd appreciate to hear what you have to say. I'm a bad perfectionist and an 'expresso-depresso' so I'm never happy with anything I make. This is a rewrite of a fic i wrote when i was 12-13, so I certainly have my work cut out for me writing a trope from days of Quizilla gone past - but I like creative writing and maybe want to write a story of my own someday, so this is also great practice.

Thank you to anyone who is reading this and for the support with your feedback, favourites/kudos, and everything else! xx

* * *

 ** _Author's note_ (2019/08/16):** Hello everyone, thank you all for reading my story! Since my initial posting to Quizilla in 2009 this story has been nearly completely rewritten from the posting I made to FFN in 2014, called "Wolf and the Tanuki". In late 2018 I began posting the rewrite to FFN as "Sand and Snow" and changed basically the whole story (whoops). This version you are viewing currently is re-formatted different (better, I hope) than the previous version presently posted to FFN, with updates to chapters currently being posted. I know OC-centric stories are critically paned (and for good reason), so if this story isn't what you were looking for, that is alright by me. I am posting this for my pure enjoyment of creative writing and the world of Naruto, and also because of my nostalgic attachment to the series.

Thank you for your patience; I hope you enjoy reading through my first work! xx

* * *

 **Sand and Snow**

* * *

 _ **~ Part I ~**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1**  
 **A Chance Encounter**

* * *

" _Get out of here, now!_ "

" _When he speaks... listen to him..._ "

Endlessly, their voices echoed throughout her thoughts. Forcing her to stay awake as her instincts forbade her rest...

The heat scorched upon her skin as she pulled herself through the mountains of sand at her feet. Everything felt so alien to her - as if another world she never once thought she would see with her own eyes. Within the vast and barren desert of the Land of Wind, one does not travel unarmed and one does not travel alone. Only fools expected to survive. She decided she would do her best to become a fool - if that was what it took.

"I'm... not going to make it..." She uttered from her dry lips. "I'm not..."

The desert winds howled violently without end that day.

As the young girl in the ragged white kimono weakly tried to keep her pace through the sand, her fanged teeth clenched. Her fair skin was burnt by the savage sun and her exhausted lilac eyes held little hope of surviving the desert's tumultuous journey. This was a very strange land to her, the near complete opposite of her homeland in the north. Instead of snow and ice, there was sand and desolation. Instead of the cold mountain air, there was the strong heat and blinding sunlight. She was not used to it at all, her body quivering in the heat from each struggling movement. In her mind were racing thoughts, clouding her already foggy vision from the merciless desert.

But she had to get away at all costs.

She had to escape, even if it was the last thing she could muster from her trembling limbs. If she stayed in her village within the far snowy mountains, she would have been killed by the armor-clad invaders who stormed the tiny settlement in the darkness of the night - like most of the villagers who ignored or chastised her existence. Regardless, that place was her home. She was born there, raised there - and she nearly died there. Deep down, she knew she had to live on by any means necessary.

She _had_ to survive.

As she eyed the endless sands around her, she thought it was pure madness if anyone dared to live in such an environment. All she knew from the desert was sand, swallowed ruins, and circling buzzards. The buzzards were approaching closer from the skies, circling above her as if she were a carrion waiting to be picked clean. Even they knew that her time was running out. On her aimless trudging through the sands, she did not see a single footprint other than her own. The winds saw to that, beating against the desert with every gust - concealing all evidence of life in their wake.

Ringing through her senses was the far-off presence of many chakras congregating to a single area, as if her instincts of survival were pointing her to a direction. She felt as if a moth drawn to a flame, her senses telling her to reach it at all costs. Could it be a village, hidden away within the vast sands? If so - how was she able to sense it? Desperately, her troubled mind searched for an answer that would not come to pass. Trudging through the dunes, her scorched feet fell weakened in her stance. After hours of aimless travel, she succumbed to the effects of thirst and exhaustion. With a faint thud, she collapsed onto the desert sand at her worn feet. Her faded eyes could barely stay open as her breathing strained her fleeting consciousness.

 _-…Am I… dying…?-_

As the desert winds swept past her straw-like golden hair, her vision began to darken. Her last remaining strength had finally left her at last. Above, she could hear the buzzards circling once more, their black wings flapping in the unforgiving winds. Each flap grew fainter as her senses slowly failed with the approaching darkness. Was this truly the end to her short thirteen years of life? Having lost all remaining hope, she gave in to the darkness that grasped her. Welcoming it with open arms from her faint glimmer of an existence…

* * *

Within only a few hours, his mission was completed.

Without a single flicker of emotion on his pale face, the stoic young boy with the crimson hair and ringed turquoise eyes crossed through the endless desert. Unmoved by its winds or the sands that danced amongst the air, he continued on his silent way over the billowing dunes. Marked forever upon his forehead was the etching of his mantra, the curse of his namesake. From the mere glimpse of the kanji on his skin, his comrades quivered as he would approach. The demon, as they called him.

Gaara.

Once fraught with blind madness, the jinchuriki who dwelled within the desert lands had a different look to his ringed eyes. They seemed to carry a fraction of hope within them, not only pain - but understanding of the struggles he faced and outright caused to others. Slowly but surely, the boy called the ' _Demon Who Loves Only Himself'_ was regaining the scattered humanity he lost from the childhood that he was stripped of years ago.

Although Gaara was recently recruited as part of the regular troops of Sunagakure no Sato, he often did missions on his own with no backing from others, completing each assignment independently and without question. As he became more accustomed to working with the other ninja of his village as near equals, his conscience consistently worried for his comrade's safety of what lay dormant inside of him - Shukaku, the one-tailed beast. The fabled Sand Spirit, as the desert-folk called it. Every moment he approached another, he could feel its bloodlust seep through him, gnawing at his psyche in its bid to gain control. Reluctantly, he was slowly allowing those whom he worked alongside to approach his wishes, however, two Suna ninja had accompanied him on his B-rank mission to the Land of Rivers. The Sunagakure Council insisted. Despite being in control of his own powers and mind for months, his village seldom trusted such a person.

He understood, but still resisted.

Only months ago, his young life had changed trajectory since the failed Konoha Crush mission due to an encounter with a foe of similar unique circumstance. Uzumaki Naruto, the jinchuriki of the nine-tails. He was a foil to Gaara's existence, valuing the lives of his comrades above all-else and cherishing his village that despised his very existence the same way - because he was a jinchuriki. Whereas before their battle, Gaara only sought to live for himself and kill anyone who stood in his way - allowing mania to control his thoughts and actions, much to the advantage of the unpredictable and greatly feared Shukaku. Shukaku relished in its bloodbath, its urges breaking through the cracks of his already damaged mind plagued by insomnia. As he lay on the cold forest floor that day in defeat, he knew he would never forget the look in his enemy's blue eyes as he saw him weep and pledge his life to his comrades.

Something within Gaara that day switched.

For the first time in ages, he felt his emotions swell into his chest as he say what Naruto's eyes conveyed. Love, that was it - he thought. The dreaded word he would never admit he feared was the answer to his adversary's drive - his love to protect the ones precious to him. Just as his late uncle Yashamaru spoke to him that day as a small child, love was the only thing that could heal a wound to the heart. The wound in Gaara's heart was the reluctance to form bonds out of the fear of losing his very existence. In his deeply hidden anger and madness, he slaughtered anyone who dared cross him in order to prove his vile existence to the world. How wrong he was, he thought - startling himself from the conclusion. As he lay upon the forest floor with his face painted in his own blood, he finally realized it.

His thinking was _flawed_.

From that day on, he looked upon the world with a different outlook - and paid Shukaku and its murderous urges no mind. After the failed Chunin Exams, he was a completely changed person. Calm, controlled, stoic, and apologetic. Redemption was his new goal, and he strived for it with his best intentions at heart. By being in the regular troops of Sunagakure, he was edging closer to redeeming himself to his village and its people. He owed them a great debt for his previous acts of terror - and he knew he owed Konoha just as much. Desperately, he wanted to put his past behind him. The cold-blooded killer he once was still lingered in the eyes of his villagers, and he knew it would be some time until he would be accepted by his comrades as an ally - if at all. His most comforting thought was that he was no longer the feared weapon of Suna his father, the late Fourth Kazekage, created - but a young prodigy who was also the jinchuriki of Shukaku.

As he was making his way through the desert ahead of his two distant comrades, he saw a faint figure within the distance. Near buried by the sand, its figure appearing nearly white from the gleaming sun. Up above it, he saw the swirling black plumes of feathers soaring on the hot air above, circling with preying eyes. It was rare to see such buzzards gather in large numbers, but even rarer to see something attract such birds. Never before had he seen such a sight. Perplexing him, he focused ahead.

"What's that?" He asked himself, unsure of what to make of the strange sight. "Buzzards?"

It was an ominous sight. Slowly, the buzzards soared closer, their guttural calls echoing in the winds. Unrelenting, the forceful desert winds pushed against him in his paused stance, whipping his red hair against him as his ringed-eyes narrowed at what lay ahead. Curiosity getting to him, he closed his eyes and formed a single hand-sign. Swiftly, the sand around his feet swirled around him - transporting him within the infinite grains of sand. As if in an instant, he appeared before the figure from his sands' grasp. From the commotion, the buzzards guffawed and panicked, their large black wings flapping erratically in a cloud of death as they flew off into the pale skies. Their meal would have to wait for another day. Turning to examine what he saw from a distance, his eyes widened in silent shock.

A girl.

Dressed in a ragged white kimono, she lay unresponsive on the desert sands. From the unforgiving desert winds, her brittle gold hair swayed lifelessly in the brewing storm as he sensed it on the winds. Standing above her, she appeared to be dead - claimed by the desert as another unfortunate mortality. The buzzards had a knack for death, as the saying went in those lands. Kneeling down beside her partially sand-covered body, he could see a brief fluttering of her chest, her lungs desperately trying grasp the dry desert air to survive. Surprisingly, against all odds, the girl was still alive and breathing.

- _She's alive...?_ \- He thought to himself, perplexed and bewildered of the chance encounter. - _How...?_ -

Those who are from the Land of Wind are aware that the desert is dangerous and not for the faint of heart. Only fools traveled those lands without thinking of the consequences - and the desert claimed many fools in its eons of lifetime. Catching his curiosity, he wondered how she managed to survive for as long as she did. Although not yet dead, she was edging fairly close to joining the god of death at his table. Was she possibly from a different land? A foreigner, he thought. Her oddly dressed appearance made it seem as if she stepped out of the Warring States Era. Her white kimono was dirtied by the minerals seeped within the sand, its fabric torn at the edges. Her skin was too pale to be from the desert lands where he hailed, her hair too golden, and her obvious ignorance of the land only confirmed it in his mind.

Suspiciously, he narrowed his eyes at her, examining her silent state of struggle. As he gazed down at her fragile defeat, he thought he seen a faint glimmer of her eyes in the blinding desert sun from her partially closed eyelids. They were of a light purple shade - reminding him of the subtle and gentle spring he heard of that lingered in the lands far east. Examining their violet hue, he could tell they held little to no evidence of consciousness, appearing near lifeless. She was moving closer to death each passing second, and her blank eyes conveyed her current state with ease and fair warning. After a brief moment, the girl's eyes again closed as she lay injured and helpless on the dunes. Swiftly, the desert winds began to grow more violent, tossing more grains of sand onto her body. Turning towards the east, Gaara could feel a sandstorm growing in the distance. If left there, all chances of survival for the girl would disappear within the sands. Standing, he glanced at her defeat at the hands of the merciless desert - pondering his options.

Should he spare her?

As he looked down upon her, he felt his gut twist with Shukaku's chakra. The beast was stirring once more, the detection of her faint chakra exciting the monster that lay within. Seeping into his psyche, the thought of crushing her with his sand flashed through his thoughts intrusively. It had been a while since he crushed something, he could feel the beast remind him. No, he thought - not today.

"Gaara!"

As he turned towards the call, he seen his fellow Suna ninja approaching from behind, finally catching up to him at last as their flak jackets shuffled against their chests as they ran. When the two comrades seen the girl at his feet, they froze in their path instantly. The sight of her near-dead appearance jolted them, their reactions distracting Gaara from Shukaku and its bloodthirsty urges - thankfully.

"A girl! W-Who is she?" One of the Sand ninja stammered, shocked. "What happened?"

"Could she be a spy?" The other suspiciously added. "She doesn't look like she's one of ours. A foreigner, perhaps?"

One of the ninja knelt down, placing their hand on her neck. "She has a pulse! She's alive, but just barely."

For a moment, the shinobi of Sunagakure gazed at the unconscious girl before them, their eyes narrowed in suspicion of her origin. While he examined her strange appearance, her breathing was becoming fainter as the moments passed, just holding on to life. Turning to Gaara, who was standing silently in expressionless reflection and hiding the torment that lingered behind his ringed-eyes, the Suna ninja awaited a command. No command came to pass.

"Gaara, what should we do?"

Their words jolted him from his troubled daze.

Putting aside his disdain for Shukaku, Gaara glanced to his comrades first - then towards the unconscious foreigner. She appeared so helpless to him, so dire. If they abandoned her, there was no doubt in his mind that she would die. Why should he bother to save her? More importantly, why did he care? Known in his homeland and throughout the great villages as ' _Gaara of the Sand Waterfall'_ , he was thought of as a shinobi who was cruel, relentless, and selfish. The eerie marking on his forehead conveyed the proof of his past mistakes, ' _a demon who loves only himself'_. They were wrong, he thought - and he knew it. Before him, as if by chance, was an opportunity to change his own thoughts of himself. It was right at his feet, her breaths growing fainter as the winds rose around them.

Giving in to his gnawing conscience, he made his decision.

Slowly, as if with great care, the sand underneath the strange girl surrounded and grasped her. Pushing back Shukaku's pleas in his psyche, he ignored the beast - its stirring quelling in dismay. With ginger caution, the sands began to take its time lifting her lifeless body up from the desert beneath until she was laying within a bed of endless grains. The sand's movement caught his comrades by surprise of his choice, their eyes widening as they watched the jinchuriki use his abilities for such an act. To them, it was unheard of. Sensing their stunned expressions, Gaara met their questioning glances with a stoic tone to his ringed-eyes.

"We return to Suna." He spoke, turning towards their surprised faces. "The storm is coming, we should be on our way."

Silently, the two Sunagakure ninja nodded in agreement. "Yes, sir!"

Carrying the unconscious girl with his sand, he walked past his comrades as the desert winds howled and drew closer. Sunagakure was still a fair journey away, making evident time was of the essence before their lives would also be at risk from the approaching sandstorm.

Hesitantly, his comrades soon followed out of fear for his prowess…


	2. Awakening

**Chapter 2  
** **Awakening**

* * *

Rapidly, her memories echoed through her mind…

* * *

 _It was gently snowing that day, as she recalled…_

 _On the winding veranda of a home overlooking the small snowy village, she was with her mother – an elegant, yet melancholic woman with eyes that longed for something she could not grasp. Clothed in a flowing and simple kimono, its red cotton fabric and her long golden hair stood out from the white exterior of the snowfall. A fragile and rare beauty plagued by the sadness that dwelled within her violet eyes. Comfortably, the young child lay on her mother's nurturing lap. With a loving gaze from her lilac coloured eyes, the silent woman ran her porcelain fingers through her daughter's golden strands. Sharing the same golden hair and light purple eyes, the child was her complete splitting image._ _W_ _hoever fathered the child left very little evidence of his parentage._ _It was clear upon the mere sight of the two, the only difference being their eyes. Although the same in color, the daughter possessed eyes of child-like wonder and innocence, whereas the silent mother had a certain dullness within hers._

 _"Mom, why are we treated different than the others? Why are they afraid of us?"_

 _Surprised by her child's question, her hand flinched. Pausing her soothing comb of her child's hair, Mikomi saw her daughter's vibrant eyes looking up to her from her kimono's lap. She once had eyes like her, she remembered - long ago. Hailing from a clan lost within the ice and snow of the north, Mikomi lived in willing isolation from the other villagers who inhabited the silent mountain. A fever claimed both of her parents before the last war, making her the sole resident of her family's aged and large house. There were no others. Engraved above the doorway to the porch was her clan's fading sigil - a black triangle symbolizing a tree across a field of white. The guardians of the mountain, they were once called. Wolf-people was another term. The name the mountain-born clan went by was Yamamori - and they were near extinction. Past conflicts with other lands and clans to the south had crippled their strength and numbers as the centuries passed. Much like the once-mighty Senju of Konohagakure, the Yamamori bloodline became thin and scarce._

 _Pushing back her thoughts of discontent, she gave a gentle smile._ _"You and I... have a special power they don't understand," She replied, softly. "It's only human nature to fear such things."  
_

 _"Are there others with that power, too?"  
_

 _That was something Mikomi often asked herself. The only others she knew were her parents - and they were long since dead. Other than her family, no one of her village had seen a Yamamori in what seemed to be generations. The past conflicts of the clan spurred many to go into hiding, concealing their bloodline from anyone who sought to hunt them down out of fear for their heritage. Just as the civil war that plagued the lands of Kirigakure to the far east of the continent, to be a wielder of any bloodline could mean certain death. Upon the mountain where they originally hailed, times were quaint and silent. No outsider dared to scale the treacherous mountain. The vast and unforgiving tundra at the mountain's base proved too great an obstacle for many to brave the elements. Although the villagers who farmed and hunted on the snowy mountain were weary of the strange-eyed woman and her child, they did not dare to cross them. Secluded by the towering peak and endless winter, they were safe. Looking towards the snowy skies above that day, she watched as each snowflake fell amongst the gentle winds._

 _"I'm... not sure," She said. "But I believe there are, somewhere out there…"  
_

 _"Are people afraid of them, too?"  
_

 _Her mother sighed, comfortingly, as she continued to run her fingers through her child's hair. "Nomasaki, the Kekkei Genkai you possess is special." She cooed. "They fear it because it's strange to them, and they don't know of our clan."_

 _With big lilac eyes, Nomasaki looked up at her from the sound of her gentle voice. Meeting her wondrous gaze, Mikomi felt her cold heart warm within her. She remembered how carefully she chose her daughter's name after birthing her within the mountainside home filled with animal furs and the heat of the great hearth. Her husband was with her, she remembered - and although the pain was unbearable, the gain was greater than the cost. Named after a 'blossom in the field', Nomasaki gave her mother hope that she would not experience the same tragedies she did in her lifetime. Something else her daughter gave her was the harsh reminder of who her father was, her reddened cheeks flushed from the cold provoking her melancholic eyes to remember his name._

 _"And remember that no matter what," Her mother spoke, smiling warmly. "I will always love you."_

 _Smiling in secure comfort, Nomasaki closed her eyes and laid her head back down on her mother's lap. There, she felt safe. She didn't want it to ever change…_

* * *

 _Years later…_

 _When Nomasaki reached the age of ten, her studies at the tiny shinobi academy grew difficult with the whispers and name-calling of the other students. Their eyes were filled with fear and ignorance, throwing bunches of paper and pencils at her from behind her desk. She tried her best to ignore them but their voices grew loud as they huddled together in shared mockery. Despite the village having less than two-hundred shinobi at their disposal, their settlement was still permitted to act as the other shinobi villages in the lands that surrounded their borders. Many of them would seldom see combat, only to be recruited to keep watch along the mountain's base for approaching enemies - which was an extremely rare occurrence._

 _Keeping to herself, she packed her bag after her class ended and started for her home on the snowy hilltop. Although she had no one to call a friend, her mother was the closest to filling that role. Entering the porch doors, she paused to take off her shoes as the snow began to fall once more._

 _"I'm home!" She said, walking through the sliding doors, closing them behind her to stop the cold from entering._

 _The house was unusually quiet, not a single sound could be heard except her footsteps on the tatami floor. It was an ominous silence, she thought. It chilled her. Stepping through the home with caution, she placed her bag against the wall and made her way through the darkened room. Not a single light was turned on either - very strange._

 _"_ _Mom?"_

 _There was no answer - her mother was nowhere to be seen or heard. Frantic, she walked down the hallway._

 _"M-Mom?!"  
_

 _As she searched the house near the living room, she froze in her steps. To her horror, she found her mother collapsed on the floor, unconscious and grey-eyed. She appeared as if she were there for hours, laying in a small puddle of her own blood that leaked from her cracked lips. Twitching slightly, she was unresponsive._

 _"Mom!"_

* * *

 _Almost as if by night, her mother had became gravely ill by an unknown ailment..._

 _For nearly three weeks of agony, she was bedridden. Refusing to return to the academy, her daughter was by her side at all times attempting to nurse her back to health by bringing her food and water. From her worsening condition, her once silky golden hair turned to white straw, her ivory face turned pale and gaunt, and her lungs could no longer accept the native mountain air which she yearned. Each breath felt as if she were choking on fire, her fever draining every last ounce of strength she had._

 _Unfortunately, her disease took a dire turn for the worst on one winter evening…_

 _Desperate, after much pleading and begging, the village's only doctor came to examine her mother's illness. Patiently, Nomasaki watched him observe her mother's vital signs, his green aura of chakra emitting over her chest in an attempt to find a solution._ _Narrowing his aged eyes behind his glasses, the doctor frustratedly scoffed to himself._

 _"Not once in my practice at Yama have I witnessed something like this…" He muttered, his head hung low in regret. "Surely a rare case… your cells are dying by the thousands…"  
_

 _Weakly, her mother looked up at the ceiling above, her once vibrant lilac eyes now devoid of life and determination. Accepting her impending fate as she could feel her body weaken by each passing breath.  
_

 _"I'm sorry." The doctor spoke, his medical jutsu disappearing from his hands. "There's nothing I can do."  
_

 _Shocked, Nomasaki turned to him, watching him solemnly pack up his medical equipment and departing into the snowy night outside. Her eyes filled with sadness, she faced her dying mother as she lay on her imminent deathbed, tears forming in her lilac eyes.  
_

 _"Nomasaki…" Her mother pleaded, weakly. "Please… don't cry…"  
_

 _"But… But you're dying!" Nomasaki argued, tears streaming down her face. "You're dying! I can't be left all alone!"_

 _Silently, she sobbed at her bedside, burying her face into the blankets before her. Her mother was the only family she had left - if she lost her, she would have no one. When asked about her father, her mother always remained silent on the subject – never sharing any details aside from that he was from an outside village. As for her father himself, no one knew what became of him, and she had no memory of his existence at all.  
_

 _"Nomasaki," Her mother said, handing her a scroll. On its frail binding was the inscription: 'wolf'. "This scroll contains someone… who will help you… use and master our clan's… Kekkei Genkai…" Her mother explained, weakly._ _With surprised and tearstained eyes, Nomasaki hesitantly took the scroll from her mother's frail grasp._ _Life fading from her lilac eyes, her mother gazed at her for a final time. "Use it wisely…" She said, almost whisper-like. "And when he speaks… listen to him…"  
_

 _"Mom…!"  
_

 _And she was gone..._

* * *

 _Days after her passing, Nomasaki traveled to a secluded meadow on the snowy mountaintop - her mother's gifted scroll in hand._

 _As she knelt down on the snow-covered ground, she opened the scroll in front of her - laying on the frozen earth as she began to read the inscriptions. A summoning contract - had her mother been aware of her fate? From her current studies at the Yamagakure Ninja Academy, she knew very little of summoning jutsu - but she did remember the hand-sign formula. Nervously, she bit her finger and painted her name on the next blank slot - signing her name in her blood. Performing the hand-signs carefully, she mouthed each part as she remembered_ _._

 _"I... Inu... Tori... Saru... Hitsuji..." Hoping the jutsu would work, s_ _he pressed her palm into the snow._ _"Summoning Jutsu!"_

 _A huge cloud suddenly appeared where she pressed her palm - startling her. Once the cloud cleared, her eyes widened from the sight - a large white wolf was standing before her, its eyes closed as it stood on its strong limbs. Ruffling its snow-white fur, it slowly opened its slanted yellow eyes._ _"You…!" It spoke, in a deep, beast-like voice. Its voice jolted her. "You summoned me… It's been more than ten long years since I was last summoned... during the_ _Third Shinobi War… Who are you, pup? Speak now or brace yourself... I haven't had a meal in near a decade - and you're all I can smell."_

 _Gulping, she stood up on her feet, staring into the wolf's eyes as she tried to contain her fear and nervousness. "M-My name is Yamamori Nomasaki." She stammered. "I-I was told to summon you... by my mom."  
_

 _The wolf's ears perked. "Mikomi?"  
_

 _"Y-Yes." She nodded, her nervousness slowly dissipating. "Who are you?"  
_

 _"Hanone." He spoke, less threatening. Startling her, the large white wolf drew closer to her, sniffing the air in front of her - twice. Once he had sniffed a certain scent, he became silent, realizing the circumstance. "Yes, you definitely are Mikomi's child. You possess the same chakra... no question about_ _it."  
_

 _Sadly, she looked down at the snow below her. "My mother… is dead." She explained. "She told me to summon you, before she died of an illness..."  
_

 _"Is that so?"  
_

 _Watching her nod with her glance averting his, he could sense the sorrow and despair she held within - her eyes conveying her pain for her loss._ _The wolf's eyes closed in sympathy for the girl who stood before him in the snowy meadow - no parents, no clan, and no future. He was all the girl had left. An unfortunate circumstance, he thought to himself._

 _"Very well. I will take you under my wing."_ _Surprised, she looked into the wolf's feral eyes - seeing her reflection emitting from its gleam. "From this day forward, I will be your mentor... and you will become a wolf."_

 _She shivered from the growl of the beast's words. Becoming a wolf was a rite of_ _passage for her long-lost people, but she was nowhere near such an age. Ten years old and hardly independent, she was utterly lost. The moment of her mother's passing was still burned into her memory, her heart longing to come home to her loving arms once more. She missed the warmth and comfort she brought, her kind words, and her stories. As she looked at the creature standing before her, she was reminded of her mother's soft coat of coarse white fur. Like all Yamamori before her, Mikomi embraced her wolfishness with pride - but made sure to not change before the frightened villagers. Her fur was so warm with protection, she remembered. On cold winter nights where she could not sleep, her mother would become a wolf and wrap herself around her, allowing her to rest upon the dense snowy fur of her tail._

 _Startling her, Hanone stepped towards her in the snow, his back facing her as he laid his belly upon the snow. Without saying anything, the beast lay still and waited. Confused, Nomasaki stared at the beast. Even as he lay on the snow, the wolf was so tall, larger than any deer or bear she seen on the mountain. It frightened her to begin to comprehend the strength of his closed jaws. Not even her mother's wolf-form was that large. She shivered once more._

 _"Well?" He grumbled. "Why are you just standing there? Get on..."_

 _She felt her heart jump in her chest from his words and the sight of his canines. They had to be the length of her palm, she thought. Taking a deep breath as she could see her gasp become vapor before her, she hesitantly stepped closer. Eyeing the white fur of the beast, she paused before it and pondered how she would approach. Grasping slowly to the fur of its back, she grabbed a handful in each palm and pulled herself up, her legs flailing slightly beneath her from the height difference. Her fear amused him, but he dared not to utter a single word - pretending he did not hear her timid grunts to pull herself onto him._

 _Once she was nearly there, he stood up on his strong limbs, startling her and causing her to fall back on his back at last._ _She was not very coordinated, not in the least._ _Adjusting herself, she carefully positioned herself behind his thick mane. Grasping the fur on his back within her fingers, she realized how similar it felt to her mother's coat. The same warmth and protection was there. Her fear and nervousness receding, she gave a small pat and nodded._

 _"Where are we going?" She asked. "Home is that wa...-!?"_

 _The wolf turned its body towards the forest that spread over the path ahead, startling her as she grabbed hold of his mane. "We must hunt first. Come,"_

 _With a strong force, Hanone pressed his clawed paws onto the snowy earth below, the blanket of white crushed under his behemoth weight. Strongly, the beast leapt forward, bounding through the snowy land into the dense thicket of frost. The frigid wind whipped against her stunned face as she took everything in. She could feel the cold breeze through her hair, smelling the freshness of the pines on the air that passed. The winds, the snow, the cold, and the feeling of flight._

 _Never before had she felt so free._

 _Smiling widely, she let go of the sadness that plagued her, welcoming the warmth with open arms as her and her wolf departed into the mountain's forest..._

* * *

 _Living her life as an orphan under Hanone's teachings, she spent her days trying to survive as best as_ _she could..._

 _Learning how to manage the aging hillside home by all herself, her wolf sat idly by on guard outside. Leaving the Yamagakure Ninja Academy behind her, she devoted her time to making sure her family home stood against the coming times and changing winds. Cleaning the floors, doing the wash, and other housekeeping tasks kept her on her toes._ _When she was done her household duties, she ventured off into the forest with Hanone, learning how to awaken her Kekkei Genkai that lay reluctantly dormant in her blood. The first step in her training was teaching her how to properly hunt - hunting rabbits, boar, and deer equipped with nothing but her instincts and a kunai. Luckily when food was scarce, there were some instances where villagers would leave leftover bread and crops to her doorstep - e_ _ither through fear of the wolf who guarded her, or for pity of her being orphaned after the loss of her mother._

 _Regardless, she appreciated the gesture._

* * *

 _One year later as the never-ending winter entered its annual storm season, she was just shy of turning twelve years old..._

 _As the cold winds shook the frosted trees along their path, Hanone guided her towards the clearing located further up the snow-covered mountain - before a great and winding forest of towering fir trees. Their evergreen hue lay hidden amongst the frost, but they were still beautiful. Sliding down the wolf's back as his large paws crunched in the snow, she stood in absolute marvel at the frosted trees around her._

 _"This is where we go our separate ways."_

 _Shocked, she turned to him - her eyes wide with fear from his unsuspecting words. "W-What do you mean?" She stammered. Closing his eyes in silence, the wolf turned his body around and started down the path for the village - abandoning her in the cold._ _"But Hanone!" She shouted. "I can't become a wolf yet!"  
_

 _"That's the very reason why we're here," He grunted, pausing his steps in the snow. "Take a look at this shrine."_

 _Glancing towards her, he gestured his head towards what lay before her at the forest's edge._ _Her gaze following his, she noticed the tiny stone monument erected before a snow-covered altar. Nature slowing taking back the last remnant of her clan._

" _This place is sacred to your people. The wolves of your clan would pray at this shrine... and it might be the key to unlocking your Kekkei Genkai... the secret of Ōkamitoko..."  
_

 _"But what if it doesn't work?" She asked. "What if... I'm not strong enough?"  
_

 _"_ _It will." He answered through his jaws. "It may take time, but it's in your future. No mistake about it." Turning his large body and stance towards her in the snow, his paws crunched the icy earth beneath - the beast's eyes stern and feral. "You're going to survive in this forest by yourself... no kunai, no food, no water. To survive, you must take matters into your own hands."  
_

 _Her eyes widened as she gulped, swallowing her fear for the unknown and unpredictable mountain lands. As the unforgiving ice-ridden winds swept by, the wolf was gone from her view - leaving her alone to fend for herself..._

 _Miraculously, without the Kekkei Genkai of her forgotten clan, she managed to pull through for a month within the cold mountain forest - fending off bears and the like, hunting for food with her bare hands and drinking from the mountain lakes, and using what little she knew of wind release jutsu to survive. Although her training was successful, she did not awaken her power that lay within - much to Hanone's dismay._

 _Despite her failure and committing to his promise, Hanone continued to guard her and teach what he knew about her people...  
_

* * *

Vibrantly, her scattered recollections of the last few days flashed within her mind – as her panicked memory struggled to process what happened…

* * *

 _She celebrated yet another birthday alone._

 _Thirteen._

 _It had been near three years since her mother passed from her fever, and three years since she was under the care and mentorship of Hanone. In her clan's traditions, she reached the each of passage. It could be any day - and her kekkei genkai was primed and ready to be fully awakened from its still slumber within her blood._

 _Many moons passed - it did not arrive._

 _Standing outside of her burning home, she stood frightened and trembling as she scanned the sight before her – her entire village up in flames, the sounds of blades clashing filling the night air around her, and the once pure white snow stained with the bloody evidence of battle. Only the backs of the armor-clad men who invaded were clear in her vision before the rising flames._ _The blackened crest of one the invaders struck her as she saw the flames gleam upon its carving._

 _A beast._

 _"Get out of here, now!"_

 _Hanone growled in her memory - her vision going blank and her mind echoed her mother's parting words…  
_

 _"When he speaks… listen to him…"_

* * *

 _Jolting, her vision was filled with the memory of the harshly falling snow and the icy winds that accompanied..._

 _As she struggled scaling down the treacherous mountain, she stumbled in her weakened and shivering state – her body shaking from panic. Muffling her silent sobs in the snow, she tried to lift herself up from the deep snow – falling in her weak attempt. Gritting her teeth, she tried to lift herself up once more with the last of her strength – her upper body exerting every last drop of energy that remained._

 _"Come on, body… move… move…!"  
_ _  
_ _Suddenly, a feeling of warm adrenaline flowed through her veins – as if a burst of hidden strength she never thought she had. As the pain burned through her, she cried out - her teeth becoming fanged as her weakened body began to take shape. An agonizing wave of change rumbled through her – shaking off her human skin in the favour of something hidden in her blood._

 _A wolf._

 _With a snarling howl, the newly awakened beast dashed through the mountain forest – leaving their past life in Yamagakure behind in a desperate bid for survival…_

* * *

 _Her memory suddenly turned black – her vision flickering weakly to the blinding desert sun above as she collapsed from her aimless journey of escape._

 _While her vision began to darken, there was a small glimmer of light through her exhausted and drained lilac eyes. Faintly, she saw a figure dressed in burgundy with red hair that swayed in the winds of the impending storm. Their ringed eyes gazed down at her as she lay collapsed, reminding her of a tanuki – a creature of fables._

 _She could feel their strong pulsating chakra as they came closer, her vision soon darkening…  
_

* * *

Slowly, her eyes opened from her prolonged rest.

Awakening, she jolted up from her flashes of fire and snow – feeling the panic rise up into her chest instantly. Realizing she was not in immediate danger, she paced her breathing – suddenly feeling the sting of her strained muscles from her desert travels. Weakly, she stood up from the stretcher and stepped towards the door of the stucco room she awoke in – sensing the presence of two people outside in the hall. Opening the door slightly, she peered through the crack – eavesdropping on the conversation.

"So, is it true?"

"Yes, sir."

Flinching back into the room, her finger lightly grazed the doorframe - silently listening to the ninja who conversed in the tiled hallway. "The squads we've sent to Yamagakure just returned… they haven't found any survivors as of yet." One of the ninja explained. "The whole village was completely destroyed."

"And the cause of this?" The other asked – a stern-faced upper ninja wearing a turban-like face covering.

A jōnin, she suspected – she could sense the skill from his chakra, but how?

"Mercenaries, Baki-sama. Hailing from Ishigakure of the Land of Claws, it seems."

"I see," Baki nodded, dismayed. "So their rogue groups have once again terrorized another village in our midst… and Yama, out of all of them. I didn't think the settlement was still occupied."

Her eyes growing heavy from sadness, she silently closed the door - refusing to hear any more. Were there truly no more survivors of her village? Deep down, she desperately wanted to hang onto hope but could not bring herself to be optimistic. Yamagakure was gone – forgotten by the other villages, just as its nation disappeared from authority shortly after the formation of the Five Great Nations.

The Land of Mountains was only a distant memory to her now.

Feeling the strong sunlight and the great masses of chakra congregating around her, she walked towards the window in curious urgency – where was she? Surprised beyond her imagination, she stared at the sight before her wide-eyed. Unbeknownst to her at first, she found herself within a large desert village – surrounded by a fortified valley of rock formations, shielding the settlement from the scourge of the encompassing desert. All around her were buildings made of sand and stucco, appearing as though they were touching the sky – all in a form of pure art. This mysterious place was unlike anything she had ever witnessed before, heavily dwarfing her tiny homeland in the north.

"What is this place?"


	3. By Blood

**Chapter 3  
** **By Blood  
**

* * *

The day passed as if some strange blur.

Only a mere few hours after awakening, Nomasaki found herself pulled into the Sunagakure Intelligence Division - a structure hidden within the winding confines of the stucco and clay buildings that wrapped around the central village streets. The room she sat in was dark, cold, and the air lacked the crisp moisture of the home she once knew. Each breath that passed her nostrils tinged with a burn of the strange land she found herself in as the draft entered behind her. Sitting nervously on the steel chair, she was seated across from the turban-wearing Suna ninja from earlier – his stone-faced expression boring through her in tense suspicion within the darkened room illuminated by a single dangling light. As she sat before his scowl, she examined the red markings present on the side of his face, fear making an appearance through the trembling on her hands upon her lap.

"And that's why you're here?" Baki asked her, papers and clipboard in tow - with two Sunagakure ANBU standing before and behind her, keeping guard and preventing her from escaping. "You were fleeing the Land of Mountains?"

Nervously, Nomasaki nodded. "Y-Yes, sir. I…" She began, averting her glance. "I escaped Yama and made it to the desert, but then next thing I knew… I woke up here."

Looking down at her lap, her eyes closed halfway - remembering her scattered memories. Yamagakure in flames, the blackened crest of a beast upon the invaders' armor, her transformation, the desert, and the mysterious boy with the brooding ringed-eyes - her recollections were still fuzzy in her troubled mind. Each one of the memories shivered her from the thought. Desperately, she wished that it was all a bad dream and that she would soon wake up within the warm bed of fur pelts on her mountaintop - and her wolf was waiting for her patiently to come outside and join in on the hunt for rabbit.

No matter how hard she pinched her palm as she sat silently in that cold chair, she could not wake up.

"I… don't remember how I got here. I could feel chakra coming from this place, so I… decided to come here… to escape."

"I see." Baki replied. "So, you're a sensory type?"

Noticing his glance upon her growing both suspicious and interested, she nervously nodded - remembering her bout for survival on the way down the mountain where she was born, and the warmth that filled her veins as she cried out in pain. Something changed within her she recalled, but all her mind could grasp was the swirling hail of white that plagued her descent down the frigid mountain. The tundra at its base was just as treacherous but barren, her senses leading her further and further away from her home consumed by fire. Its red and orange flames were still fresh in her mind, the stench of burning flesh and wood licking at the black skies. Even in the room she was confined in she could sense the chakra from the strange flak jacket-clad men who questioned her. Each felt different than the other - and each felt as if a warning to her instincts.

"Yes, sir. I… think so."

For a moment, Baki narrowed his dark eyes at her – analyzing her panicked exterior behind her nervous expression. A strange girl from a forgotten country and village, rather than a covert spy from an enemy – and her abilities a unique mystery. Knowing that it was Gaara's squad that recovered her, he questioned his motives internally. Why bring back a foreigner to Suna in the first place? Whether the answer was pity, a change of heart, or something more, Baki knew he would never gain a straight answer from his most socially-difficult pupil.

He was assuming pity.

As a village sheltered from the unforgiving desert and other villages, Suna had an abnormally high distaste for those from foreign lands – especially in recent times due to the previous Third Shinobi War and the village's ever-growing economic crisis. Beyond the vast reaches of the desert was the Land of Mountains, located between the borders of the Land of Earth in the north and the Land of Wind to the south – a cold and frigid nation comprised of skyscraping peaks and a never-ending winter. The small nation was loosely populated, with most of its people residing in scattered settlements along the tundra-like steppes – with Yamagakure, its only military power, containing less than two hundred citizens before the recent invasion. Due to its isolation, the diplomatic ties Yama had with other villages were either strained or non-existent – and in the case of Suna, it was both. As allies in the recent war more than thirteen years ago, relations became strained when Suna's request for teamwork against their daimyo went unanswered – the strong-willed people of the north choosing to forever enact neutrality and independence.

Standing up from his steel chair, Baki gathered up his papers – turning to the girl with a stern expression. "In the meantime, you're free to go. We've sent squads to Yama to scout for survivors. So far, most fled to lands northeast of the Land of Mountains… towards the Land of Earth."

Her eyes watching him exit carefully, her palm trembled on her lap from the feel of tension – curious as to why Yama was being searched by outsiders. Why? Did her land's daimyo request help from Sunagakure – or were Suna attempting to meddle?

Pausing in his steps, Baki turned to the frozen girl – sensing her anxiety. "Are you waiting for family?"

Caught off guard by his calm question, she briefly jolted in her seat. Realizing what was reality, a saddened expression pained her face - remembering Hanone and her mother. "No," She said, quietly. "I… don't have one."

Acknowledging her response in silence, he once again analyzed her frightened and sorrowful expression with stern eyes. Turning away, he directed his attention to standing Sunagakure ANBU – their faces masked by turban-like cloths, evoking mystery and silent authority. Watching them made her uneasy.

"Men! Report to the Suna Council immediately with this information. A meeting will ensue with the council."

"Yes, sir!" The two ANBU nodded, disappearing shortly after within a thick cloud of smoke – the door closing shut in the darkness…

* * *

Stepping out from the shadowy interrogation quarters into the village streets, the blinding desert sun stung her eyes as she took her first few steps of freedom.

Shielding her face from its strong rays with her fingers, she ventured towards the congregating chakras she could sense ahead. Marveling at her surroundings, she paused as she took in the environment around her wide-eyed in silence. Hundreds, if not, thousands of people were bustling through the plaza where she stood – each of them conversing with their neighbor, purchasing goods from the market, or shinobi preparing for their next assignments. Never before had she seen so many people at once - and in the same place. Familiar with only the scattered mountain-folk who lived in her tiny village, she could not fathom what life must be like within that nurturing cradle of the desert. For a place nestled within a valley of death, Sunagakure was a surprising sanctuary teeming with life.

She remembered that she asked her mother about other villages once. Sunagakure was the only village she could recall by name. Unlike the snowy lands of Yamagakure that were fraught with endless snow and frost, the lands of Sunagakure were marked with heat and wastes. She heard they worshipped the gods of the desert with shrines guarded by monks and had statues inscribed by red scripture and adorned in gold. In her homeland, they worshipped no such gods - only sending scattered prayers to her long-lost ancestors to the decrepit wolfish statue on the shrine covered by the snows. Another god she knew of was the god of death. No one prayed to the god of death, but all would eventually greet him at his table - as her mother would say.

As she scanned the faces of the villagers she walked past, she could sense their chakra – down to every fiber and aura to the finest detail, each and every one distinct from the others. Since she fled from her homeland, she could not stop sensing the chakra of those around her, as if a gnawing thought that could not be pushed aside. Was it gained from her Kekkei Genkai? Desperately, she mulled for an answer. Feeling intimidating from seeing so many people at once, she retreated to the next street corner – hoping for some relief to her senses.

"Hey! Watch it!" In her frantic daze, she bumped into somebody – an obviously annoyed man carrying a bag of farmed herbs and spices.

"S-Sorry!"

Seeking calmness, she continued to venture through the village – glancing down at her tattered and dirtied kimono and her state of ferality. The village was a spectacular sight to behold – a cradle of life nestled within a valley of death. As she walked on within the quieter reaches of the village, she could feel a lump in her throat and her lungs thirst for air – as if the dry desert heat was strangling her. She could feel it deep within her bones, aching slightly with each step as if the permanent frost from the mountains was melting away inside of her. As she collected her scattered thoughts and tried to ignore the chakra she could sense envelope around her, the image of the figure with the red hair repeatedly entered her mind - their brooding ringed-eyes of turquoise and dense chakra pierced through her memory. Who was it, and why did she remember them? Did she imagine them through a sandstorm mirage, or was it actually a real sight? Looking down at her feet as she walked, she wished the thought would stop bothering her.

Suddenly, a presence ripped through her as she entered the sheltered square – the chakra she sensed trembling her to her spine. Filling her mind with the scent and feel of sand and blood, she trembled. It was a very heavy and burgeoning presence, her senses screaming at her to flee. The mass of chakra felt as if it were over one thousand men – a monster. Never before in her life had she been so terrified of such a thing.

- _What is this… I feel…?!_ -

Frightened and wide-eyed, she turned towards the menacing chakra she felt, her eyes frantically scanning the crowd before her. Then, she saw him. Within her sights across the busy square, she saw a boy about her age – his hair a crimson shade of red and his eyes ringed against his pale skin. His face resembled that of a tanuki, a tanuki in human form. Dressed in the same burgundy clothes she remembered and carrying a gourd on his back, his seafoam eyes held no emotion whatsoever as he stood unaware of the stare she locked onto him.

He was real.

As she watched him, her fear slow dissipated while her body shook from the ominous chakra - relieved that it was only a boy, not a monster like she originally thought. Her eyes flickering at him from a distance away, she noticed he stood with two others - a taller boy dressed in black puppeteer clothes with a witty smirk, and a girl with blonde pigtails clothed in purple with a war-fan strapped to her back – conversing with them across the village square. She hoped they had not seen her staring at them from afar, but as their conversation reached its end, they began to turn towards her direction. Quivering in fright from the chakra she felt, she slowly backed away into the sea of people. Finding an escape, she turned around and ran down the village street - her senses yelling at her to run.

Reaching a distant alley, she paused to catch her breath – confident that no one had seen her.

Strangely, as she relaxed, she could feel something sharp begin to poke the inside of her cheeks. Something did not feel right to her and terrified her – alerting her senses. Frightened, she hesitantly turned to a broken mirror beside a pile of discarded garbage. Horrified, her eyes widened – her expression blank. As she looked into the glass fragments, she saw a wolf staring back at her - a human face grotesquely morphed with the ears and muzzle of a beast. A monster with fangs glistening in the reflection. Crying out, she closed her eyes as she fell to her knees - grasping her ears with her trembling hands in her silent pleads for them to disappear.

"What… What am I?!"

Tears formed in her eyes as they were squinted closed, her mind resisting to believe what she saw was real. Slowly, she reluctantly glanced up at the broken mirror once more – the sight surprising her. As she looked through the fragments of broken glass, she touched her face with her shaking fingers – all traces of the beast had disappeared as if it were an illusion. Inspecting herself thoroughly, only the fangs remained – visible only if she opened her jaw wide enough to see.

"What just happened?" She asked herself, still shocked by the ordeal. "Is this… my Kekkei Genkai?"

Staring at her hands with her fingers spread, her fingers trembled – did she just witness her true form?

"Hsss!"

Startling her, she turned towards the noise as she sat on the filthy alleyway. Perched upon a can of trash, a spotted cat had its back reared at her - hissing at her in defensive aggression. In understanding for its demeanor, her eyes closed halfway. Gathering her thoughts, she lifted herself from the ground, dusting off her already ragged dress, and started for the village streets once again.

What was she to do?

* * *

Later that same evening within a darkened room of the Kazekage's mansion...

Attentively and quietly, the infamous Sand Siblings stood before their devoted sensei, Baki - as if in secret from the Suna Council and advisors. Since the aftermath of the failed Konoha Crush mission, the village elders began to despise the Sand Siblings and their parentage – especially Gaara, whom the mission highly depended on, and his status as the feared jinchuriki of Shukaku.

With a stern and stoic expression, Baki eyed the three genin. "And you're certain of it?"

"Yes," Temari nodded. "During our last few missions as a team, Shukaku didn't emerge at all."

"Well then," Baki acknowledged, turning towards the window at his side. "It seems focus and solitude are proven to be useful to you… Gaara."

From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the emotionless prodigy, who stood silently between his two siblings. Despite the mention of his name, remained silent - his face expressionless as he stood.

"What can you tell us about this?"

Taking one step forward, Gaara paused, lowering his head as if in a slight bow. "Since the failed Konoha invasion, Shukaku has been dormant." He replied. "I've been training my mind to ignore its urges... and take precautions when necessary." His eyes narrowing slightly, he glanced to his side. "Even if that means avoiding my comrades from time to time... for safety."

"Good." Baki nodded. "Now that Shukaku isn't much of a threat, the council might feel more comfortable having you rise through the ranks." With his arms crossed behind him, he turned to face the three genin. "As you three may have noticed, the village is in dire need of leadership. But due to our village's small size, strong candidates for the Fifth Kazekage are few and far between." Looking down, his eyes narrowed - tensely. "Letting on the Fourth Kazekage is still alive is allowing us to repair our democracy behind the scenes... by having the council rule until a suitable Kazekage is found." Looking towards the young genin, his expression was stoic and calmer. As he gazed directly towards Gaara, as he stood expressionlessly in the middle of his siblings. "Gaara, when you come of age... you will be nominated as a candidate for the Fifth Kazekage."

Surprised, Gaara's eyes widened from his words - Kazekage. Was it really possible for him to achieve his dream so soon?

Shocked by the relevation, Kankuro stepped forward. "B-Baki-sensei," He stammered. "Are you serious? Gaara's only thirteen!"

"And you're fifteen." Baki scoffed, turning to him. "Not even a man yet. As I said before, Suna is in a time of desperation. We need a strong shinobi to lead us." Turning back to the stoic boy in the center, his glance focused on him. "And Gaara… is a jinchuriki. Not to mention the connection by blood. You three are all members of the Kazekage clan, so being Kazekage is in your birthright."

His shock dissipating, Kankuro turned to his younger brother - surprised and bewildered by the chance of another Kazekage dynasty. Since the time of the First Kazekage, their clan has laid claim to the title as leader of the village – the Kazekage clan and their powerful shinobi establishing the foundation for the settlement's authority. In their direct family, they possessed two Kazekage - their great-great grandfather, the First Kazekage - and their father, the Fourth Kazekage. As he thought of the implications, it started to make sense to him – Gaara being the Fifth Kazekage would seem like a smart move, being that he is young and a talented shinobi – aside from his jinchuriki status. Additionally, since returning home from the failed Konoha mission only a few months ago, Gaara was a changed person – no longer a blood-thirsty sociopath but a calm and collected introvert.

Could it be possible he would make a decent ruler for the village?

"Even so," Temari chimed in, her eyes serious and curious – prying for more information. "What about the higher-ups? I thought they were still sour about the mission in Konoha falling through."

"Having you three in the normal troops has been softening them up," Baki replied. "Especially since you all received training from the Fourth, himself." A slight smile on his lips, his expression relaxed. "Your recent successes are changing their tone. I suspect the council will be putting more faith into you three, now that you've repaired relations with Konoha." Turning towards the window, he folded his arms across his chest. "Until the next assignment, you three are dismissed."

As the three siblings left the darkened room that evening, Kankuro noticed Gaara walking off into the opposite direction of the narrow hallway. "Gaara," Kankuro spoke, pausing. "Where are you going? Shouldn't we-?"

"I'm heading out for the night." Gaara said, walking into the shadowed corridor. "I'll return later."

"Oh," Kankuro spoke, somewhat awkwardly. "Alright."

"Come on, Kankuro!" Temari chided. "The weapons shop will be closed by the time we get outside! Didn't you say you needed a part for your puppet?"

"Hey, now!" Kankuro ran to catch up. "Not just a part, an accessory!"

Silently, Gaara walked alone into the dark hallway seeking an exit. Gnawing at his psyche, he could feel Shukaku beginning to stir from the mere mention of its name, its chakra burning in the pit of his stomach. Although his exterior was calm, controlled, and collected, his mind was fighting a constant battle. His turquoise eyes were worn from focus and control over the tailed beast that tormented him – a never-ending battle for self-control and peace of mind. Since that encounter with the unconscious girl of no name, Shukaku had grown restless. With every waking moment, it twisted inside him for the thirst of blood - a tumultuous craving that went unanswered by its host. Although no stranger to its internal outbursts, it perplexed him greatly as to why it had grown so restless all of the sudden.

Feeling drained from his insomnia, he stepped outside into the night - seeking the moon for comfort...


	4. Wolf Meets Tanuki

**Chapter 4  
** **Wolf Meets Tanuki**

* * *

It was a full moon that night, as the desert air turned cold...

As Nomasaki was making her way near the village gateway, she ventured to the top of the stone wall that surrounded the village – avoiding the border patrol shinobi who paced back and forth along the perimeter. When she reached the top of the valley cliffs, she turned back towards the village - her lilac eyes holding sadness as her ragged kimono and straw-like hair swayed in the winds. Looking towards the heart of the village and the dim glow of the lanterns in the distance, she felt deep sorrow as she pondered her options - if she stayed in Suna she would all alone in a foreign land, but if she tried to return to her ravaged home she would only meet the same outcome. As she held in her tears, her troubled thoughts came back to haunt her – the mysterious boy she met earlier, his brooding eyes and fearful chakra.

Why did she remember him?

Suddenly, as the winds blew past, she felt the ominous chakra from earlier chill her bones – only this time it felt closer. Nervously, she brought herself to turn towards it. Her eyes widening in slight shock, there he was – the boy with the ringed-eyes and crimson hair. Standing alone with his arms crossed over his chest, he was only a distance away from where she stood - overlooking the desert and the moonlight. As she watched him gaze at the desert night, her memory flashed before her eyes – faintly, she remembered looking up at his gaze in the desert as the sandstorm blew past, and the feel of something lifting her up from the swallowing sands.

In an instant, she remembered – he saved her.

Bringing herself to face him against his frightening chakra, she took her first steps forward – determined to figure out who he was. Suddenly, she seen his glance look towards her from the corner of his eye. His ringed-eyes seen her in their line of sight. Nervously, she paused - her body frozen.

"You," She spoke. "You… seem familiar."

No response from him, his glance returning to the moon.

"Were you the one… who found me in the desert? Did you… save me?"

Once more - silence. In her shy nervousness, she averted her gaze - trying desperately to ignore his dense and terrifying chakra.

"You could've died out there. The sandstorm would have killed you." He finally answered. "I was returning from a mission… you were lucky I saw you when I did."

Surprised from his voice, she turned to him and met his stoic gaze – their eyes meeting each other for the first time. It was him, just as she remembered in her memory – ringed-eyes of a turquoise shade that lacked pupils, both mesmerizing and terrifying at the same time. He was about her height and age, and she could feel the ferocity of his chakra from meeting his mere gaze – although his outward appearance did not feel threatening to her in the slightest.

What was he, she thought - and where was the menacing chakra coming from?

As she could feel him examine her lilac eyes from where they stood, she bowed her head, slightly. "I… just wanted to say thank you for… saving me." She stuttered, gratefully. "I'm… in debt to you for that."

"Don't be."

Nervous from his audible change in tone, she felt the chakra again - gnawing on hers. While he stood across from her, Gaara could feel Shukaku writhe and twist within its seal. Just as he thought, the girl had awoken the monster inside him. As he looked at her nervous eyes, he saw the same shade of violet he saw within the sands of the desert. The dullness of near-death gone, her eyes had a strange vibrance to them. Such a strange person, he thought. Being before the full moon was bad enough - but now he had to deal with the tanuki's thirst for blood and its insistence he let the attack the girl. Why her? Creeping into his psyche, the subtle thought of crushing returned. Pushing it back into his mind, he ignored it once more as he turned away from her - hoping she would leave for her own safety.

"You should return to where you came from…" He said, as if it were a warning. "You shouldn't be close to me. You should leave in the morning."

"Why… why not?"

Silence again.

Nervously, she gulped as she gathered up the courage to face the immense chakra she sensed – walking closer to where he stood along the wall. Despite her instincts telling her to leave as he said, she did not listen. There was something odd about him that made her dangerously curious of who - or what he was. Stubborn in her split decision, she paused after approaching at nearly an arm's length. Startling him slightly from her closeness, he shot back a glare from the corner of his eye.

"Didn't you hear me? I said stay away."

"Why don't you want me near you?" She questioned. "What... are you saying?"

In that silence, she seen him glance towards her again – only this time he seemed reluctant, pained. "I'm a monster, that's why. Or at least… I used to be."

"What do you mean?"

He turned around to face her, his expression blank and devoid of emotion as he met hers of nervousness and curiosity. "I'm a jinchuriki." He revealed. "I possess Shukaku the Sand Spirit, also known as the one-tail. It's the tailed-beast of these lands... in Sunagakure."

She could feel a tremor spur through her from his words - jinchuriki.

Shocked, her eyes widened in sudden fear from the realization. Remembering the tales her mother would tell her as a child, she recalled that the tailed-beasts were the living embodiments of chakra – causing natural disasters and misfortune to humanity. They were the greatest fear of mankind. If bound to a human host, that human would be called a sacrifice - a jinchuriki. If what he said was true, that would explain why his chakra felt so immense to her. It was not just his chakra, but also the chakra of Shukaku. His tailed-beast that lay within, a demon. Even now after meeting him, its chakra still frightened her, coming over her like a dense cloud of fear.

"A… j-jinchuriki?"

"I had it sealed inside of me to create the ultimate weapon for this village. And for that reason, I was considered a monster by my villagers. That's why you shouldn't be around me." He finished, turning back to the moon, feeling the beast's urges gnawing in his mind. "I could easily kill you within a heartbeat."

His words striking a chord with her, she looked upon him with sincere empathy, understanding his deep loneliness as he noticed his tone softened. She never met a jinchuriki before, but was certain they were just like everyone else. They were indeed human - only more alone. Watching his back as he gazed at the moon above, she felt the tremors of fear that plagued her slowly come to pause as she grew used to his unspeakable strength. Strangely enough, she did not feel the urge to run. She coped with it, accepting the risk that lingered in the night air.

"I'm learning to control its violent urges better, but I'm still dangerous. For your own safety… it's best if you leave me alone."

Sadly, her eyes closed halfway, remembering how she was treated in Yamagakure because of her clan…

* * *

 _Years ago, when she was a small child…_

 _One morning, her mother was walking her down the main village street, holding her hand softly as their footsteps crunched in the soft snow - on their way to the small Yamagakure Ninja Academy that was showing its age. Wanting to right the wrongs of the past, Mikomi sought to end the prejudice by enrolling her only child and daughter into the academy with the other village children, hoping that it would dissipate any hatred that remained for the near-extinct 'wolf-people' of the northern mountains - in retrospect, that is what Nomasaki grew to believe. It was snowing, as she recalled in her memory. As the two Yamamori walked, the irked villagers nearby began to murmur as they passed by.  
_

 _"There they go again… damn wolves…!"  
_

 _"Why do they have to live so close to the village…?"  
_

 _"They're a danger to everyone, it's their fault Yama is in the shape it's in…!"  
_

 _"Shh! They're right there…!"  
_

 _Sadly, Nomasaki looked up to her mother – her face painted with hurt. Upon looking up to her mother, Mikomi's delicate fair expression had turned into one of sorrow. Although she tried to keep her composure, her daughter could clearly see something was wrong - the villager's harsh murmurs pierced her like the sharpest ice.  
_

 _"Mom?"  
_

 _Her daughter's voice suddenly brought her back to reality – jolting her daze of verbal torture. Faking a smile, Mikomi glanced down at her. "Everything's fine, Nomasaki." She cooed. "Don't worry."  
_

 _Nomasaki wished she could have believed in her words, but she knew how it hurt her mother and herself - all because of the clan they hailed from…_

* * *

Biting her lip and trying to ignore Shukaku's massive chakra, she stepped forward towards him – her glance pleading. "I'm not afraid of you." Surprising him, he turned to her, meeting her sympathetic gaze – astonished at the foreigner who stood by him. "I can understand how you feel, being an outsider to everyone." She stated, quietly. "Because of my clan's Kekkei Genkai, I was treated differently by my villagers… Our power was… strange to them, so they… shunned us because of it."

"Your... Kekkei Genkai?" He asked, becoming curious.

"Yes…" She nodded, sadly. "If you saw it, you would probably shun me, too."

"Saw what?"

She looked up to meet his gaze, her eyes turning sorrowful yet stern with strength. "My true form…" She answered, quietly. "…I'm a wolf."

"A… wolf? What do you mean?"

Looking down with saddened eyes, she averted her glance from him – remembering her awakened power as she held her hands close to her chest. "My clan, the Yamamori… we were called the 'wolf people'. We lived in the mountains, but… during the Warring States Era, our numbers dwindled." She explained, silently. "Those who weren't familiar with our clan shunned us, cursed… blamed us for Yama's isolation from the other villages… My kekkei genkai is called... Ōkamitoko."

While he stood before the strange nameless girl, he found her lingering pain just from the mere glance of her violet-colored eyes as she uttered the word of her heritage. Her calm composure was fragmented, torment and anguish hidden behind her saddened expression. Ostracized, alone, and abandoned. He knew those things very well - as did she. Stirring in the pit of his psyche was Shukaku, its menacing presence detecting the wolf in its midst. The moon was full and it had been a while since it stirred so incessantly and excited. The girl was indeed a strange and perplexing find - and he as determined to figure out why. Keeping his expression calm, he furrowed his brow, ignoring the gnawing urges of his tailed-beast as he became intrigued by the girl before him that night.

"If what you're saying is true...-," He began, his eyes slightly narrowed towards her. "Show me. I want to see for myself."

His words shivered her.

Eyes widened, she examined his stern expression in the night, her fingers lightly trembling at her sides not just from his words - but from the lingering presence of the demon that lurked beneath his skin. His gaze was locked upon her, she felt the boring of his light-colored eyes into her, their ringed shape reminding her of a tanuki - only more frightening. Strangely, she did not feel he was threat - but his tailed-beast certainly was. Hesitantly, she averted her glance from his as she shivered once more.

"Why...-?" She stammered, her tone quiet. "Are you... sure?"

His gaze unwavering, he nodded his head of crimson only once. As she looked up at his curious expression, she mulled over the idea – realizing she had nothing more to lose. "Alright... if you insist."

Silently, she took a few steps back and closed her eyes. With the feel of the cold wind, she could feel her blood boil beneath her skin. Her teeth gnashed in slight pain as the warmth burst through her veins, her teeth suddenly grew into fangs within her jaws. As her breathing grew heavy, with each heave she lost bits of her present humanity. Suddenly, she felt her skin shake beneath her, a cloak of white fur appearing over her entire body - changing. Unlike the first transformation on the mountainside, the pain was easier to cope with. Before his widened eyes, he watched the strange girl transform into a horrid beast.

A wolf.

Releasing a bark-like snarl from her muzzle as she changed, the wolf stood before him in the darkness of the night - only the moon paying them any company. Never before had he witnessed something so unexpected. Wolf-people, he thought - as he found himself startling for all but a moment. The wolf had snow-white fur and the same lilac eyes the girl had, still possessing the same human quality but quite feral in nature. Standing still, the wolf's eyes bore into him – reading his chakra that stirred inside him and his expression of bewilderment as he locked eyes with the beast cautiously. Shukaku suddenly came to a standstill in his psyche, growing quiet after seeing the beast that stood before him on the wall that towered around the desert village. Stirring silently, the beast's excitement drifted elsewhere.

After a moment of silent staring, the wolf stepped aback. Transforming back into the girl's human form, she resumed her shape with her unkept shoulder-length gold hair and a ragged white kimono. Quivering, she backed away from him, her eyes glistening with forming tears – interpreting his reaction as fear and disgust. His reaction was just like the others, she thought. Memories of the villagers who shunned her clan suddenly returned to the forefront of her mind.

"There! You've seen it…" She cried. "I'm neither a human or a wolf… I'm trapped!"

Bitter tears streamed down her cheeks as she could feel the fangs in her mouth begin to show. Turning away from him, she looked away in shame. Bracing herself, she began to walk towards the path down the cliffs – ready to venture off into the unknown.

"I understand now why you didn't want me around, and I'm sorry… I'll leave you alone and get out of Suna. There's no place here for someone like me…"

"Wait,"

Just before she could jump down into the valley of the unknown below, she felt something take hold of her wrist with a firm grasp – halting her departure. Turning, she saw a stream of sand holding on it - not tightly, but enough to prevent her from fleeing. Looking towards him in shock of the sand, she could feel her tears become heavy in her eyes and hot upon her cold cheeks. His expression was calm and unchanging, provoking her response only more.

"I'm a wolf!" She shouted. "You just seen! I'm-!"

"I'm not afraid of you." He replied, his voice sounding much different than before – his tone understanding and empathetic. Her eyes widened from his words, surprised from his reaction – was she wrong to judge him? "You're just different… like me."

Surprising her, the sand holding her wrist returned into the gourd on his back, releasing her from its bind. "Is this... sand?" She stammered, watching the sand return into the gourd on his back. "How can you...?"

"Shukaku," He spoke. "This is my ability, being its jinchuriki."

Lifting up his palm, tiny grains of sand began floating in the air by his hand, as if attracted by a magnet-like force - swirling in a sphere of minerals before him. Mesmerized, she watched in curiosity. Never before had she seen something so strange and perplexing. Used to only snow and ice, she had never once thought that the sands of the desert could appear so beautiful. Maybe it was the moonlight, she thought.

"My sand acts as my... extension. It protects me, as my Ultimate Defense. It acts on my own when I'm attacked, so it's alive... in some way."

As she looked at his expressionless face and his ringed tanuki-like eyes, she raised a brow. Perplexed by his appearance and presentation, but also intrigued by his presence – an odd tattoo of the character for 'love' written on his forehead above his left eye, catching her attention. The kanji appeared as if etched into his very skin, masked only by the stray wispy strands from his messy red hair. Getting lost in her thoughts of its meaning, she averted her glance. Not once during their meeting had he shown any emotion towards her other than a slate of stone - stoic, calm, and collected. A boy of very few words and very few emotions.

"Why are you...?" She began, shyly, trying not to pry. "You're not very expressive, are you?"

His sand fading away, he relaxed his arm, turning to her with his emotionless expression - unsure of how to socialize with someone so pressing and opposite of himself. "You ask a lot of questions…"

Slightly embarrassed, she averted her gaze, her eyes closing halfway in shame. She did not mean to strike a chord with him, but he was very hard for her to read. She could not even tell if she visibly upset him. His expression reminded her of the ice from her homeland - polished, blank, and cold. Although he was from the desert, he could have easily been mistaken as someone from her land with that attitude, she thought.

"Keeping my emotions in check minimizes the chances Shukaku would break from its seal." He began, glancing at her timid eyes. "I have to keep controlled. Especially during a full moon... Shukaku's chakra becomes stronger, so having control over its urges during this time… is crucial."

Turning back to the darkened black skies above, he calmed himself from the light the moon shone onto him, feeling conflicted and at ease - all at once. Since he was a child, nights of the full moon terrified him form sleeping as Shukaku's bids for control grew ravenous with each passing day. If he stayed awake, he could quell its urges - but if he slept, the monster would awaken and destroy everything in its path until stopped by the Gold Dust of his father. Staying awake from insomnia was always the norm for him - but it came at the unfortunate downside of having to listen to Shukaku's rumblings deep within his mind. Only recently did he learn to tune out the beast from his thoughts, but during a full moon it was as if the beast were the only thing he could hear at night. A side effect of a faulty sealing jutsu, he often thought to himself. Although the moon was beautiful, he was risking a great deal to stare at it when full - especially with someone so close by. In the skies, the moon shone upon the sleek desert sands, illuminating the dunes that formed waves of sand as far as the eye could see. When the moon was full, Shukaku stirred and twisted inside him, bloodlust entering his senses as its calls for control went unanswered. He glanced down at his feet, his ringed-eyes closing halfway.

Was it sorrow?

Returning his glance to the moon's glow, he stood in silence for a moment. "One day, I want to be able to look at the moon without feeling I could lose control."

Catching her attention, the girl turned to him. Slightly surprised by his words, she then understood why he needed space earlier - resonating with what he meant. Following his gaze, she looked at the full moon above them, its light reflecting onto the wide expanse of desert beyond the wall they stood upon. In pity, she smiled to herself, hiding her shamefulness.

"It's funny," She spoke, quietly. "How everyone says wolves howl at the moon, but... not once have I ever wanted to."

He glanced at her, feeling strangely at ease and comfortable, understanding what she meant as he watched her pained gaze towards the moon above. The foreigner from the mountains was the second person to understand him and his pain the way Uzumaki Naruto did. In a way, she reminded him of Naruto as he also understood her loneliness and longing for acceptance. It was mutual.

Suddenly, she felt an unknown chakra approaching them. Although small in numbers, she could feel the alertness shake through her. Turning her head to the direction of the presence, her eyes widened. "Someone's coming!" She spoke, surprised at her own abilities. "I think it's shinobi from your village... maybe three?"

"You should leave before they arrive. They might be looking for you, since you're not from these lands." He replied, his tone slate-like. "Why were you in the desert in the first place? Those of the Land of Wind know better than to venture off during the dry season."

"Oh," She realized. Turning away in thought, no answer seemed to come to mind. "I'm... not sure. My village was attacked so I... I had no choice but to flee. This was the closest place I could run to... until I passed out, that is." Feeling his eyes upon her, she glanced back towards him. "I'm from the north, the Land of Mountains. It always snows there, unlike this place. This land is so different than home... at least the night is cool."

"Snow?"

"Yes," She nodded, a faint smile on her lips. "Have you ever seen snow before?"

"No, I haven't." He answered, dryly. "What is... it like?"

His curiosity warmed her. "It's cold and strong." She said. "It's... sort of like sand, in a way."

As she prepared to make her disappearance, she hoped deep down that she could avoid being interrogated again by the intel division. Once was enough - or so she thought. While she turned her body towards the pathway that led to the village streets below, she paused as her curiosity returned for a final time that night. Giving him a curious and calmed glance, she examined the tone of his ringed-eyes as he stood across from her before the full moon. Once more, the kanji upon his forehead caught her attention.

"Who… are you?" She asked. "What's your name?"

"Gaara. And yourself?"

Shyly, a small smile appeared on her pale face. "Nomasaki."

Silently, the two shared a gaze together within the cool winds of the night. Although it was brief, she could feel her air of fear around him dissipate as she met the calm tone of his turquoise eyes. Shukaku's chakra still lingered around her, but she reminded herself that the boy was not the monster - Gaara. After moment, she turned away and leapt from the wall, shaking her skin with a painful wince as a wave of white fur enveloped her while in mid-air. A short snarl escaped her jaws as she shook off her human skin and changed into a beast. Swiftly, the wolf bounded down the stone wall in powerful speed, disappearing into the night.

Watching the wolf vanish into the darkened streets, he could feel Shukaku twist inside him once more. The feeling irked him, his psyche tinging with a slight pain as the chakra within him gnawed at his thoughts.

- _You should have crushed her...!_ \- Shukaku spoke within his mind. - _That girl is bad news... Wolves might even be worse than foxes...! Let me kill her...!_ -

He shook the thought from his mind. He was changed, he remembered - he was changed since those dark times. No, he thought in his mind to the beast - he would not do such a thing. He would cause her no harm. Dismayed, the tailed-beast inside him stirred once more. As he felt the light of the moon upon him, he could feel his body grow weary from insomnia. Despite his control over its urges, he could not combat its relentless battle against his sleep.

For another night, he would lay awake in his thoughts within the comfort of the moon...


	5. Outsider

**Chapter 5** **  
** **Outsider**

* * *

Later that cold night...

As the wolf bounded through the vacant village streets in a glimpse of white, shadows crept and crawled from their cover.

The hidden shinobi that were hot on her trail kept tailing her, their path towards her dancing in the shadows. When the white beast reached the empty and quiet plaza, it was surrounded, its claws scratched against the sand ridden ground. Surrounded. Firming its stance into the sandy earth below, the creature's muscles tensed. Backed into a corner, the wolf barred its fangs, snarling in aggression with its back reared defensively. Revealing themselves from the shadows, the figures pursuing her stepped forward out from the shadows of the surrounding buildings that coated them in the dark. Four eerily masked ninja stood before her with no weapons drawn, all of them clad in Suna flak jackets and mysterious expressions hidden by carved porcelain. The animalistic shapes of their shrouds unnerved her, the fur on her back frayed and arched upon meeting their unwelcome glances.

Only their dark eyes were visible in the moonlight as well as the hilts of their sheathed katanas.

"That's as far as you go, wolf." One of them spoke. "We don't want to fight, we can assure you."

Analyzing their stance, the wolf barred its muzzle.

Although their words were calm, she sensed their chakra as untrusting. While they stared her down, all she could see through her beastly purple eyes were the masks that appeared before her. Owl, cat, lizard, and fox. The one with the vulpine mask appeared shorter than the others, their young frame dwarfed by the adults beside them. The vulpine carving of their mask unnerved her the most, laughing at her in the dark. Their eyes were boring into her as if in apparent disgust. A sharp growl escaped her jaws, her muscles tensing as she rubbed against the stone behind her.

"Growling at us isn't going to do you any good. We already told you - _we don't want to fight_. Unless," The fox grasped the hilt of his katana at his back. "You'd rather die in a pool of your own blood -,"

"Tojiru!" The leader snapped, his owl mask whipping towards him. "Enough! Our commands are to intervene, not kill. Sheath your blade at once!"

"Fine," Tojiru sighed, the blade sliding back into its place. "It's been so long since we last had a good hunt... I'm disappointed."

The condescending tone of the vulpine shinobi made her want to snap her jaws at him. But after looking at the glances from the others, she realized they had no weapons drawn and no hand-signs woven. They were right. Surrendering herself, the wolf gave a snarled wince as its form suddenly changed. Slowly, the creature transformed back into the girl, all signs of wolfishness receding under the moonlight as Nomasaki sat crouched on the ground before them. Her eyes frightened by their strength, she narrowed her glance towards them. " _Don't let them know you're afraid",_ she remembered Hanone's words, "Y _our enemies will use fear against you"_.

"Who are you?" She brought herself to ask. "What do you want from me?"

"We are shinobi of the Sunagakure Tracking Unit," The owl-faced leader stepped forward. "We work amongst the shadows to keep the peace, and hunt down those who threaten the existence of our village. We are the hunters, the pursuers, and the trackers that protect Suna from disorder."

 _Tracker-nin_ , she thought.

Her heart skipped a beat as she breathed in the chakra around her, their silent stares from their hidden expressions striking her with fear. She was afraid, she realized. Afraid. Clutching her hands against her chest, she calmed her shaking while forcing herself to look towards the owl mask directly into their darkened eyes. She had to swallow her fear, she had to. A wolf does not fear, she reminded herself, a wolf _devours_ fear. But she was but a girl of thirteen, trembling and frozen as the clothes at her back scraped against the stone fountain behind her. Just like the armored men who arrived in her homeland days before, the shinobi before her exerted the same daunting presence in their still stances.

"Is that it, then?" She shook, accepting her fate. "Are you here to kill me?"

"You may be an outsider, but the Suna Council finds you to be potentially useful."

"Useful?" She questioned, as she could feel nervousness well up inside of her. "What do you mean? Why should I trust you?"

Stepping closer towards her, the leader of the pursuit team passed her a thin scroll. Hesitantly, she reached out and took it from his gloved hands. Reading its secretive contents in the night, she saw the words etched clearly before her. Shocked, her hands trembled as her widened eyes began to glisten with hidden tears of relief.

"I'm... being given permission to...-?"

"...Become a shinobi of Sunagakure." He finished, sternly. "You have sensory abilities unlike Suna has ever seen, so you would be a great asset to our forces."

"I... I can really stay here?" She stammered, surprised and confused all at once. "I'm from Yamagakure, the Land of Mountains! Does that... matter?"

"If you can fight alongside us," The owl-faced man spoke, his tone serious. "Then you can live amongst us. Remember… you must _earn_ your share."

Looking up at them wide-eyed, she sat helpless and bewildered by their proposition. She had a chance for survival as a ninja – something she always remained unsure of during her days in the sheltered mountain reaches of Yamagakure. That was why she quit, she remembered. Caring for her dying mother was one thing, but to return to such an environment afterwards was unthinkable. However, she knew deep down that she was not a natural-born fighter. She was soft and meek, unlike the stoic and fearless shinobi standing before her who had skill beyond her current grasp. This was her opportunity to change her fate, her ticket to freedom of a new life.

Becoming a kunoichi was her new freedom.

Forming a single hand-sign, the leader of the tracker-nin team looked down at her – their brown eyes gleaming from the moonlight through their porcelain veil. "Become a kunoichi of Sunagakure, and you can stay here as long as you wish. That is the offer the village presents to you… an outsider."

Suddenly, within a vast cloud of smoke, three of the masked shinobi that surrounded her were gone - disappeared within an instant. Standing alone before her, the vulpine-masked ninja pointed his blade towards her. Chilling her, she met the unwavering contempt of his eyes. They were mocking her.

"Become a shinobi... or choose death." He said, calmly as a breeze. "I wonder which one you'll choose?" Forming a hand-sign with his free hand, she could see the grinning of his onyx eyes boring through her fragile glance. "Until next time, wolf."

As he vanished from her sights, she felt a wave of relief surge through her. Not a single trace of his chakra remained. Breathing easy, she thought of his words. Shinobi or death - which would she choose? She did not exactly have a choice, and she knew it. She was backed into a corner just as she was earlier, her moral compass spinning rapidly as it tried to find its place in the world. But what world would that be? She had no home, no family, no village, no clan.

She was alone.

Glancing down at the scroll held open in her hand, the calligraphy of the words 'shinobi' struck her. As brief as the pardon was, she was unsure of their intentions. Was her kekkei genkai though sought after? Her chills easing, she contemplated to herself. Should she take up their offer of freedom - or was the path of the ninja too vicious for her to adapt?

She knew deep down that she no longer had a choice...

* * *

"An outsider -?! What on earth - why are you _here -_?"

"I'm...-,"

That next day, Nomasaki looked up to the baffled instructor with a nervous glint to her eyes. She could feel them staring into her, examining each fiber of her anxiety, seeing her hands twitch at her sides and grasp the scroll tighter. They were frozen on her strange eyes, their brown eyes widened towards hers of ominous lilac. It was an older woman of near retirement age, her chestnut hair greying as it swirled into her bun. The woman was clothed in a loose-fitting garb and a dark poncho on her shoulders, her eyes pale and blue and glaring at the strange girl before her in the empty training fields. Nomasaki could feel the contempt in her glance, reminding her of the fox-faced ninja from the night before.

"I'm here to... take the graduation exam." She answered, stepping forward. "I want to... become a kunoichi of Suna."

"A foreigner becoming one of our shinobi?" The woman scoffed. "Why would one of your kind come all this way to -?"

Catching her attention, the purple-eyed girl held out the scroll. Hesitantly, the woman looked at the scroll, then the girl, and then the scroll again. Taking it from her nervous grasp, the woman read its contents carefully. Narrowing her eyes upon its words, Nomasaki folded her hands over her stomach as the nerves built up inside her. She heard the woman sigh the words silently to herself as she read them, making sure that the scroll was authentic and truthful.

"I see, so it's Kenzō-sama's doing," The woman said, closing the scroll. "It seems you caught the attention of our council, outsider. You're a lucky one. Most of the foreigners who travel to these lands without the proper etiquette are not treated nearly as kind."

Staying silent, Nomasaki averted her eyes nervously.

"It appears we have no choice... Here, girl - follow me. The examination halls are this way. There, you will be tested to see if you are indeed worthy of becoming a shinobi of our ranks."

As the woman started for the towering building beyond the sandstone fields, Nomasaki followed quietly behind. Stepping into its shadow, she looked up at the intimidating structure as it loomed over them. Sunagakure Ninja Academy, it read. Inside, she could sense the chakra of many shinobi young and old. Soon, she could become one of them. In Yamagakure, the exam was a survival test. Primed since they were children, the students of Yama were told of their mountain terrain, the numerous herbs and plants, and how to make a fire. She knew all there was to survival - Hanone saw to it that she did. But in Suna, there was no snow, no mountains, and no need to set a fire.

She was walking in blind.

There was no telling what the desert lands had in store for her as she entered the exam hall. Voices and mutters of surprise soon filled the air silently as they entered, unwillingly catching every eye in the room. Keeping to herself, she held her head down as the instructor led her to her assigned seat towards the middle of the room. As she eased into her desk, she felt the stares on her from the students around her. All of them stunned by the appearance of an outsider.

"An... outsider...?"

"Her eyes are so weird..."

"I wonder what country she's from... the Land of Rivers...?"

"Why would she come here...?"

She wanted an answer to that herself. All she remembered was sensing a a large body of chakra, pulling her towards it as she trekked the desert aimlessly in her desperate bid for survival. That was what she told the Suna shinobi who questioned her, she remembered. Ignoring the whispers amongst her, she wrote her exam silently after the head instructor gave the signal to begin.

Much to her relief, it was just a written test. Although she left in the midst of her studies, Hanone had trained her well. She knew the basics, the fundamentals, and the mechanics of survival - all she had to do was apply what she remembered.

Baffling the instructors who lined the rows of desks, they did not anticipate the arrival of a rag-clad foreigner from a distant land. Within a few short hours of taking her seat in the stunned classroom of onlookers, she was the first outsider in years to graduate from the ninja academy. Although a feat in itself, it came with some suspicious glares from the elder higher-ups of the village – who were especially displeased with the foreigner becoming a Suna shinobi.

A genin.

The next day would come the team assembling...

* * *

Standing in the training field that sweltering morning, Nomasaki stood amongst her graduating class timidly.

As she watched her comrades be called to their jonin instructors, the herd was thinning at an alarming rate. One by one, the head instructor called out the names from a clipboard, riffling through the pages as the names were checked off in succession. The heat of the village was still getting to her, her bones aching from the blinding sun and the melting feeling returning. Surprising her, it was becoming more bearable. Swapping out her ragged kimono, she clothed herself in a long-sleeved white tunic and tight black shorts with bandages wrapped around her legs – her shuriken holster placed on her right thigh and thin-armored plating on her wrists and shins. On her forehead was her newly acquired Suna headband, its emblem gleaming in the sunlight as she stood.

"Nomasaki."

The sound of her name made her head perk up.

But no clan name was spoken.

"...to Team Hashira."

Stepping out of the rows of genin, she felt all their eyes upon her as she made her way towards her assigned instructor. Standing calmly with two other genin, he turned to greet her. Taking her by surprise, he was a young man no older than his twenties with a glance that was friendly yet stern all at once. As she came to a pause, the conversing genin turned to her. A boy and a girl, both of them her age.

"I take it you're the outsider everyone is up-in-arms about," Hashira started. "No need to worry yourself. You're amongst your team, now."

"I'm Shinto," The black-haired boy grinned. "Nice to meet you!"

Relieved, she gave a timid nod as she found herself smiling back.

"Your name is Nomasaki, right?" The girl approached, her face kind and welcoming. As Nomasaki looked to her, she noticed her short brown hair and dark eyes instantly. "I'm Meiyumi, I'm training to be a medical-nin."

"Now then," Hashira started, crossing his arms over his chest as his voice alerted them. "As a team, we have our first exercise tomorrow at dawn. Meet me here in the training grounds, and we can get started. I advise you all get a good night's rest and eat lightly - the task might prove difficult."

Striking the three genin, they all felt as if the winds were taken from their bodies.

They were now shinobi - and being a shinobi meant to endure. No longer sheltered by the walls of the academy, each of them was being thrown to the wolves. In the teachings of Suna, shinobi were expected to be duty-driven, hardy, and resilient. The brute strength and ferocity of Suna shinobi was known throughout the lands, with recent voices echoing with the failed sack of Konoha. The only village whose reputation was more fearful was Kirigakure to the far east of the continent amongst the silver waters - known by many in passing as the ' _Village of the Bloody Mist'_.

And both villages were known to host unfathomable jinchuriki.

Sensing his heavy chakra approach, Nomasaki turned behind to see the brooding-eyed Gaara appear with his siblings before the head instructors as the field grew restless with the banter of the new teams. Far from where she stood, it felt as if he were standing beside her. His chakra entangled with the essence of Shukaku was much too strong to separate in her mind. The whispers around her spoke of him and his older siblings acting as instructors, the name of Konoha was whispered as well. One voice mentioned Shukaku - while another questioned why he was there in the first place.

"It seems the Kazekage's children are here," Hashira pointed out. "They were recently part of a new training program as part of reparations between us and Konoha."

"Hashira,"

Meeting his stern glance, Nomasaki remembered the man.

Baki was his name, she remembered. He was the man who questioned her what seemed to be weeks ago, but his permanent scowl was still etched inside her memory. The coldness of that room filled her thoughts, as did the stiffness of the metal chair and the questions of why she dared step foot into their unsettled lands. The red tattoo on his cheek struck her with fear as did his scowl which was partially covered by his turban. He was a calm but fearful man.

"Baki-sama," Hashira greeted with a subtle bob of his head. "You appear well. I take it your new place on the council is treating you well?"

"For now at least," Baki answered, his expression unchanging. "With our Kazekage gone, the elders have been constantly summoning me for assistance. Times are harder than we could have imagined, but we must persevere as a village."

Those words struck her curiosity greatly. Turning towards Shinto, she leaned in timidly. "The Kazekage...?"

"Yeah," Shinto nodded, whispering back. "He was killed by that snake guy, the Sannin Orochimaru... We've been without a real leader for months..."

"What...?" She was surprised, unfamiliar of the name. "You mean... -?"

"Suna is in a sticky situation... To avoid war, we're letting on that the Fourth is still alive..."

Shinto's whispered explanation was nothing less than alarming. It appeared she arrived in Sunagakure at its worst possible time. No wonder she got so many strange and unwelcome glances, she thought - the entire village was paranoid of invaders. To make matters worse, she was from a different land and most were already aware. A land with no allegiances, no allies, and no loyalty to another. From the very start, she was marked as suspicious by the village's eyes and ears.

"I see you're now with a team of your own," Baki said.

As he examined the faces of the genin before him, he paused his eyes upon the foreigner. Frozen in her stance, Nomasaki stood silent with her violet eyes nervous. Keeping calm was proving difficult as the more she met his glance, the more she felt the familiar fear swell back into her throat. Thankfully, he directed his attention back to her instructor.

"I noticed that the outsider is on your team. It'd be in your best interest to not flaunt that fact to the councillors."

"I'm aware," Hashira nodded. "One of the elders suggested we take her under our wing. Kenzō-sama, sir. Do you know him?"

It was that name again, she thought to herself - Kenzō.

Baki pondered to himself, a sigh escaping his stiff lips. "He's a strange one, Kenzō is... He was on the advisory committee since our Third Kazekage disappeared and has offered counsel to the Fourth. But he is a trustworthy one, he stays true to his word."

"Baki-sensei,"

Startling her, Nomasaki felt the tailed-beast's chakra rear its head towards her again.

Behind the stern-faced jonin, the Kazekage's children soon approached. She heard their names and reputations spoken on the air in the field that day. The eldest was the girl, Temari - a smug-faced kunoichi of fifteen, wielding a war-fan with ferocious wind-release at her disposal. She was the strongest genin-level kunoichi in the village, she was told. Beside her stood Kankuro, the middle child. He was the youngest member of the Sunagakure Puppet Corps, clothed in the black of kabuki performers and his face painted with purple markings.

And then there was _him_.

Gaara.

Standing silently with his expression blank, the young jinchuriki waited patiently for his sensei to answer to his sister's call. They were standing only a few feet apart from another when she saw him. Her body jolting from the feel of Shukaku so close, she averted her glance shyly. She met him only nights before, but she thought it was too soon for a second encounter. It was unexpected to see him there on that day, and she was not prepared.

"We're ready for our next mission," Temari reminded their instructor. "Should we start for the gates?"

"Yes," Baki nodded, turning towards them. "We'll embark shortly."

Beside her, Nomasaki saw Shinto gnash his teeth and glare towards the silent tanuki-eyed boy across from them. His bandage-wrapped fists were clenched at his sides, shaking lightly. It was not fear in Shinto's eyes, she noticed - it was hatred. Remembering the words Gaara spoke to her when they met, she understood why. Being a jinchuriki surely was a curse, she thought.

She felt a glance upon her.

Looking forward, she noticed Gaara's eyes were gazing towards her, locked on hers in a way that was neither invading nor mired in contempt. His eyes were just as mysterious and unnerving as when she first saw them in her hazy memories of the desert, the blackened rings around them evoking a slight chill to her spine. But his glance was calm - human. Shukaku's presence was overwhelming her senses as it did earlier, its dark chakra dancing on the air around her as she stood.

He was not a very emotive person, she recalled - and it appeared he was not one with words either.

Her timid-nature enveloping her, she could not bring herself to say hello - or anything to him for that matter. She wanted to say something to him, to break the silent tension that stood between them like a barrier. She was frozen between an angry Shinto and a cautious Meiyumi, her violet eyes easing to a calm as she tried to forget that Shukaku was lingering on the winds.

"Good day to you, Hashira." Baki nodded, briefly. "I'll be seeing you at the next jonin meeting."

As Gaara and his siblings started for the village streets with their sensei, Temari and Kankuro began bantering to each other as they crossed through the sand-ridden training field. Their voices were hushed, curious, and ponderous. Lacking the knowledge of social cues, he decided to embark into uncharted territory.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, calmly.

"Oh," Kankuro remembered, pondering to himself. "We're trying to think of where that new genin came from."

"New genin?"

Temari nodded, perplexed by her thoughts. "Yeah," She said. "That girl with the purple eyes. We're trying to figure out where she came from, since she's the outsider. Never in my lifetime did I think I would see a foreigner willingly come here."

"Suna hasn't had an outsider graduate the academy in years!" Kankuro nodded. "Not even the elders know which village she's from."

Temari scoffed to herself. "Oh, they know." She replied. "They just won't tell. Only the council knows, most likely."

"Hmmm…" Kankuro pondered, scratching his head. "Weird. She's just a foreigner, so I don't understand the 'hush hush' about it… it's not like she's from Konoha or something."

Listening carefully to their words in efforts to provide a social answer, Gaara knew exactly who they were talking about - it was the girl he met only months ago, the girl who transformed into a wolf before his very eyes - Nomasaki. Having only seen her moments ago with the other genin, he has not spoken to her since the night they met. Intrigued by their unexpected encounter, there was something about her that made him want to speak with her again – as a friend sharing a similar path carved by loneliness.

"Yamagakure," He said, entering the conversation – his tone and expression stoic as he looked up at them. "From the Land of Mountains."

"Huh?" Kankuro gasped, surprised. "R-Really? You don't say."

As the stern-faced jonin and his team walked off into the training grounds, Shinto muttered curses under his breath while Meiyumi reminded him to calm himself. Standing against the desert winds, Nomasaki watched the glimpse of bright red hair disappear against the sands with his siblings. With it - Shukaku followed.

And her first day as a shinobi had come to pass...

* * *

 _ **Notes:** _The members of Team Hashira carry some meaning.

Shinto's name (Shinto, 神道) can be translated into "the way of the gods" from the Japanese religion Shinto or Shintoism. The Shinto faith is considered the indigenous religion of Japan, which involves the worship of gods known as "kami" and nature.

Team Hashira's medic-in in-training, Meiyumi (芽依弓), can be translated to "sprout" (芽衣) and "archery bow" (弓).

And finally, Hashira's name (Hashira, 柱) can literally be translated into "pillar", which represents his status as leader of his genin team.


	6. Strange Eyes

**Chapter 6  
Strange Eyes**

* * *

Months passed…

The training Nomasaki endured was unlike any she had faced in the mountains.

As a genin-level shinobi, she was pushed day in and day out to hone her strengths and identify her weaknesses. Under the tutelage of their sensei - Hashira, the three genin were subject to his unforgiving training regimen and his by-the-book Suna teachings. Even from his calm and friendly demeanor, Hashira had the iron-strong shinobi code hardened into his teaching style. Quickly she realized what she had ultimately signed up for, but she accepted the challenge as it gave her a chance to decide if she chose the right path.

" _Become a shinobi… or chose death"_

The words that masked tracker-nin spoke to her months earlier still haunted her in the dark recesses of her thoughts. The more she pondered his words, the more she realized how similar both were to another. At least becoming a shinobi would be a slow death, she assured herself – but then again, it could arrive quicker than intended. Already, they were hearing stories of the other genin perishing while on their assigned missions. Enemies in distant lands were jumping at the opportunity to strike at the once-feared village and their waning strength. The failed operation in Konoha only propelled more enemies to seek them out. Sunagakure was in its dire straits, heeding calls for more shinobi to their daimyo but their calls were going unanswered. Maybe that was why she was asked to become a shinobi, she thought.

She came to _them_.

She remembered walking home from a mission where she and her teammates witnessed a grieving mother weeping over a tarp-covered boy, his limp and bloodied hand protruding from the white sheet over his body. She could smell the scent of death circling around him, the stench burning through her nostrils in warning. _"That's what happens when you jump into battle without thinking"_ she remembered Shinto say, _"It's sad to see another comrade go like this"_. The sight irked her as she walked by, churning the lunch that sat in the pit of her stomach.

She had seen enough death in her short lifetime, that was for certain.

Using what little money she rationed from her share of earnings from her team's D-rank and C-rank missions, she got herself an apartment outside the crowded plaza. It was a tiny, dingy one-bedroom unit with a nice window on the third floor of a large stucco building that wrapped around an alleyway. Seeking comfort from the harshness of war that plagued her, her new home was a welcome environment. She had acquired many books to read and had a nice warm bed waiting for her at every day's end. Despite her neighbors' kindness, some of the villagers she encountered on her way home and back again distrusted her for being an outsider – giving her sharp glares on her walks through the village streets.

'Foreigner', as they called her – as well as 'outsider'.

Although they knew little to nothing of her kekkei genkai or her long-lost clan, they still shunned her because she came from another village. The undeniable prejudice of other villages shone through the cracks of their harsh glares. It was clear upon their scowling faces.

In contrast to lands where clans were praised, Sunagakure was a village unlike the others. In that, coming from a clan was deemed most undesirable. Memories of the Warring States Period were still fresh in the minds of the elders who crowded the council chambers of the village and the land's capital, echoing sentiments of disgust and fear. It was especially so if that clan was from an outside land who did not bear allegiance to the people of the desert. Since the dawn of their culture, the Land of Wind had been comprised of settlements occupied by not clans - but 'families'. They were not clans, she was reminded – similar, but one does not dare speak of them in the same breath before the elders. Of the thousands of families that resided within the vast country of desert, held once in hierarchy were four 'noble families' whose names were lost within the vast sands of time. Only one of the families still remained in Suna, their bloodline thin and scattered to only three known descendants. The Kazekage clan, as they were called by the elders in recent years – the lineage of their leaders of the past and future.

Gaara's clan, she soon realized – or family.

In the Suna culture, it was customary for people to wed in arranged marriages in efforts to keep their bloodlines pure from imperfections such as incest and debauchery. The numerous great families of the Land of Wind had done so for centuries, ensuring that no kekkei genkai be disrupted or interfered with another – and that their loyalty to their lords remained strong. It was a convoluted concept to her. She understood the fear and mistrust part, but the blood imperfections struck her as hurtful. Looking back at herself, she remembered her mother, a pure Yamamori born on the mountains – and her unnamed father that she never knew. She was a not a pure-blood, she reminded herself.

She was a half-blood.

Hanone made sure that she did not forget.

She wondered if that made the villagers look down at her more – if they knew her truth, that is – and she was hopeful that they did not. Luckily, her teammates and captain did not look at her that way – or at least she did not sense any contempt from their kind and friendly glances. Despite her fresh start in the desert, her heart still yearned for small Yamagakure in the far north. Her homeland was all but forgotten to the outside world.

And Hanone was nowhere to be found...

* * *

Standing quiet beside her teammates in the assembly chamber, Nomasaki listened to the jonin commander speak.

As the commander's booming voice filled the room, it gathered the attention of every genin from the prodigal to the absent-minded. While listening carefully to the commander's words, she sensed that dark chakra again. Burned into her instincts and memory, she knew exactly what it was. Calm and collected, he stood beside his older siblings - not inching during the meeting at all with his duty-first attitude and stoic expression. Gaara, the expressionless jinchuriki of Shukaku.

While the assembly ensued, the murmured voices of the other genin whispered to each other under their breaths – astounded, awed, and terrified of his presence.

"Is that Gaara…? The jinchuriki…?"

"I heard he's also the Fourth Kazekage's son…! That's why he's so strong…!"

"Rumor has it he's next in line... but we'll see how far he gets in the next Chunin Exams…!"

"Don't make eye contact - he's the jinchuriki of Shukaku…! You never know when he'll snap again…!"

Shyly, she gazed at him from afar as he stood with his siblings – trying to ignore the dark chakra emanating from him and the comments from the other genin. Deep down, she hoped that one day he would notice her again and lend his friendship, for they were so different yet so alike at the same time – near foils, almost. Although his chakra terrified her, she felt as if her senses were trying to trick her. The loneliness he endured was painted all over his blank stoic expression, burned forever into his mysterious ringed eyes.

Were her comrades right, after all?

Begrudgingly, her teammate Shinto leaned his whisper towards her - not taking his eyes off the jinchuriki for a second. "I can't stand how they let him become a ninja...!" He whispered, annoyed. "It's bad enough he's even in this room...! What were the higher-ups thinking…?!"

"He's not dangerous..." She whispered back, his comment striking a hidden nerve. "His chakra isn't the same as Shukaku's... Trust me, it's nothing to worry about..."

"Hm...? What's gotten into you all of the sudden...?"

Caught off guard, Nomasaki averted her glance, slightly flustered from the jokingly-made accusation. "N-Nothing,"

"Silence!" A nearby jonin chided them. "This is an important assembly, save your squabbling for later!"

Both of them jolted in their stances, awkwardly directing their attention towards the front of the room as they stood in formation before the speaking jonin officer. While she stood, she bit her tongue - swallowing her pride against her teammate's prejudice.

Like the others, Shinto's feelings against Gaara were just as volatile as the others while they murmured their fears and disappointments within the chamber. Catching her curiosity, she slowly glanced towards where the feared jinchuriki stood. At the front of the formation, Gaara stood silently besides his older brother and sister, listening carefully to the orders being given. Startling her, she saw the gleam of his turquoise eye meet the direction towards her timid glance. Jolting, she quickly adverted her attention, pretending as if she never looked his way. His curious glance retreating, she looked back to him, her violet eyes holding both empathy and guilt.

Her feelings complicated her mind. She was a thirteen-year-old barely beginning to grasp the social norms of Sunagakure and the roles of her emerging adolescence, not to mention she was still a fresh recruit to their forces. Sadly, she thought to herself as she could hear the leader of the assembly continue to speak - why would Gaara want to bother with a genin like her? She had asked herself that question every time she saw him along the village cliffs, looking up at the night sky from afar and alone. Would he ever speak to her again?

Despite her deep fear for the chakra of his tailed-beast, she deeply wished he would...

"Guard duty?" A genin questioned, dismayed. "Are you serious?"

"We're in dire times," The jonin commander answered, his scarred face evoking an unmoving stern glance. "Every night for the next few weeks, two genin will be randomly selected to stand guard along our gates." Gesturing towards the wall behind him, the genin followed with their eyes. "At the front of this room, you can find your name on this posted schedule. Any questions can be deferred to your jonin instructors."

Once the assembly was done, Shinto pulled his way through the crowd of restless young shinobi eager to find their names. It was a sea of Suna headbands and unrest. Reaching the front, he scanned quickly for his name while Meiyumi and Nomasaki soon joined him.

"Guard duty? You've gotta be kidding me!" He scoffed. Pausing his finger on the sheet, he let out a relieved gasp. "Oh, hey! I don't have to until next week!"

"You're lucky," Meiyumi groaned. "I have to tomorrow, I'm going to lose out on so much sleep!"

"Nomasaki, where's your name at?" Shinto asked, turning to her as he saw her scanning the schedule. "I don't see you anywhere."

As she looked at the schedule before her, she could not see her name either. Maybe they forgot her, she thought – or maybe they did not want an outsider on their border. She was going with the latter.

"I don't see it either," She answered. Suddenly, she saw the first character to her name written clearly on the top slot. She was to guard that night. "There I am, but who is -?"

Her finger upon the sheet flinched.

Gaara's name was written beside hers. He was to be her partner for that night. Nervously, she retracted her hand, turning to face the stunned expressions of her concerned teammates. Meiyumi was more enthusiastic, at least. As Shinto read the name silently to himself, he let out a curse under his breath.

"Good luck," Meiyumi said, feigning a smile. "Let us know how it goes!"

Walking past Shinto, Nomasaki paused as she met his furrowed brow directed towards her. His dark eyes were full of anger and concern, both emotions circling endless in his gaze. She knew he was not angry at her, but he was ultimately worried for her safety. Whenever Gaara was mentioned by name alone, Shinto grew angered. His hatred for him was strong.

"Be careful with him, Nomasaki." Shinto warned. "Don't get too close."

Heeding his words, she gave a small nod. Try to dissipate the discomfort she felt from his concerned glance, she lightly smiled. "Thanks, Shinto."

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice,"

It was Baki's voice she heard. Turning towards the other side of the room as she walked to the door, she saw Gaara standing before his jonin instructor alone. Although she was not able see his face, she could tell that he was not pleased.

"As a member of the regular troops," Baki continued. "You can't afford to miss much time. Just do your assigned guarding tonight, and from then on you can resume your normal duties."

Dismayed, Gaara turned away. "Fine…"

Watching him leave the assembly hall made her gut twist inside. Was he upset that he was paired with someone so inferior in strength? Perhaps. Solemnly, she left the confines of the hall with the hopes of her guard duty finishing quickly.

She suddenly lost her interest in speaking with him.

* * *

The moon was full that night…

Standing alone on the village's mighty stone wall of a gate, Gaara looked on at the blue sands of the desert with a narrowed glance. He could feel his blood boil subtly as he took in the moonlight, his tailed-beast twisting and writhing inside. As with any full moon, Shukaku was screaming to be let out, its chakra gnawing at his psyche with each passing breath. Sensing someone approach from behind, he shot his narrowed glance towards the doors at the top of the winding stairwell. Closing the door behind her, Nomasaki walked to her post, the hilt of the katana strapped to her back gleaming in the moonlight. Relieved it was only her, he calmed his stance. Her quiet steps unnerved him, making him even more weary of Shukaku's insistence that he lash out. Keeping control that night was going to be a difficult task.

As she stood at her assigned post, she brought herself to look towards him. Examining him from afar, she noticed that he did not have a blade equipped. Guard duty offered a multitude of weapons for the assigned shinobi to use at their disposal – with her choosing the sword. All he had was his gourd of sand, strapped heavily to his back while he stood.

"You didn't take up the blade?" She asked, breaking the silence.

"My sand is strong enough," He answered, glancing to her. Looking at the gleaming hilt at her back, he found himself becoming curious. "You know how to wield a sword?"

"Sort of," She confessed. "I'm more familiar with kunai, actually… but I want to be safe."

From meeting his ringed-eyes, she felt her nervousness return as she could feel Shukaku's chakra in the air between them. It felt even stronger than earlier, reminding her of the words he once spoke to her of the full moon. It was a full moon that night, she remembered, noticing its shape above in the darkened sky. As she reflected on the words she heard earlier, she looked upon the horizon ahead with a firm glance.

"I seen you ask if you could change your guard duty. I'll try to make up for that."

Surprised by her words, Gaara turned to her. Meeting her calm purple eyes, she gave a light smile and nodded. It was at that moment that he realized what she meant. He saw a timid sense of determination in her glance, unaware of the truth.

"That's not why I…-,"

"I may be a new recruit," She said. "But I'll do my best."

She meant it. Finding himself grow concerned, he averted his glance for a moment. The reason why he wanted to change shifts was because of his fear of hurting her. It was a full moon that night and Shukaku was growing restless. If it were at a different time, there would have never been an issue to begin with, but it appeared fate had other plans. Maybe the elders hoped they would kill each other, he thought. He would not put it past them.

"I meant to say, I've noticed you joined our ranks." He spoke, turning back to her. His eyes were narrowed slightly, masking his hidden dread as his tailed-beast gnawed inside. "Why?"

"Oh," She began, surprised by his question. "Well, I…-," She averted her eyes, saddened by the memories that haunted her. "I have… nowhere else to go. My home is gone, I have no family, and my guardian…-," She hung her head low. "…He's still missing."

"Your guardian?"

"Yeah… we were separated during the attack on Yama." She nodded, meeting his eyes. "I hope he's still…-," Her words came to a stop before she could speak. They choked in her mouth as she realized what she was saying. Her eyes widening from the realization, she swallowed her intuition as her gaze met the stone beneath her. "…alive."

It has been months since she fled her country of snow and ice, and Hanone had not appeared. Not even when she would try to convince herself to summon him, she trembled at the thought. What if she summoned a dead wolf, she thought to herself – what if he was dead? The thought disturbed and saddened her to no end.

"…You've never stood guard before, have you?"

His calm voice drawing her in, she rose her head to meet his gaze. "No, this is my first time."

Turning back to the vast expanse of desert beyond the village wall they stood upon, she was near awed by the sight. All around where her eyes trailed endless waves of sand were painted blue by the moonlight above, the dunes swept by the gentle cool winds of the summer night. It appeared almost like water, or even snow in her vision. For the first time, she thought the harsh desert land was beautiful.

"I never realized how large the desert was. It looks as if it can go on forever!"

Taking in her words, his ringed-eyes followed her gaze. If for a moment, her friendly words brought him temporarily relief through distraction of the beast that lurked inside his faulty seal. "You'll get used to it." He spoke through a small smile.

A brisk wind blew past.

Suddenly, her senses struck her. Whipping her head eastward, Nomasaki's violet eyes widened from the feel of the chakra. It was approaching them quickly and aggressively. Her instincts chilled her, her body preparing itself to fight. Taking notice of her fearful expression, Gaara turned to her, his eyes narrowed while his skin crawled.

"What's wrong?" He questioned. "Do you sense someone?"

"Do people usually arrive in Suna at night?" She asked, her voice calm but eyes afraid. He gave no answer. Reaching for the hilt of her blade, she prepared herself. "I see… It's intruders, then."

In a wisp of the violent winds, an assassin clothed in black from head to toe swept up the wall and entered into the view of the moonlight. Up above, the foe plummeted down with a dagger in hand. Quickly, Nomasaki blocked his blade with her katana. Grasping the hilt with both hands, it took near all her strength to hold them back. As they fought for control of a counter, her grip suddenly tightened, her wolfishness seeping through her jaws as she released a fanged breath. Pushing them back, she swung the blade towards them.

Jumping backward, the assassin met the contact of Gaara's sand. Swirling around them, the foe leapt and bounded along the wall's surface, avoiding capture from the swift streams of sand that flew towards him. Lurching against a platform, the black-clad foe shot through the oncoming waves of sand towards them. Seeing an opening, Gaara readied himself for attack. Suddenly, he felt a pulse shake through his blood from the demon under his skin. Before he knew it, the sand took the form of Shukaku's arm and flung towards the foe – and his partner who stood close by.

"Get back!" He shouted. "Move, now!"

Hearing his yells behind her, it was already too late.

Unrelenting, the sand flew towards the enemy and clasped them at last, all remnants of their black clothed figured masked by the fast-moving grains. As the sand propelled towards the foe, it knocked Nomasaki onto the cold and hard stone at her feet. Her body hit the stone with a thud, the katana bouncing out of her hands and sliding across the marble.

"Nomasaki -!" Gaara shouted, cursing under his breath. "Damn it -!"

With the crush of his fist, the assassin vanished into the sand at his will, blood spurting from its hold and painting the stone in red. Twisting inside him, Shukaku's cries for control were getting harder to ignore. He did not know what was worse – the sight of the moon or the sight of the blood. He felt as if he could go mad at any moment.

- _Crush her…!_ \- Shukaku bellowed inside him. - _Now is your chance…! Kill her…!_ -

Shaking off its intruding thoughts, Gaara rushed to her side as his sand returned to his gourd discarded on the stone. With a wince, she lifted herself up from her scrapped knees. She hit the ground hard, her knees pulsing from the impact still. Kneeling down beside her, his frightened eyes saw a light gash across her cheekbone, the blood leaking slowly from her wound. It was his fault. His sand was the culprit. With a wince, she held her palm against it to stop the bleeding.

"I'm sorry -!" His voice was panicked and guilt-ridden. "This is why I told you to stay back -,"

"It's… It's alright," She winced, meeting his eyes. "It's just a cut, that's all." Her eyes widening as she felt the chakra around them, she turned towards the scattered blood upon the stone. "Is he… dead?"

Following her gaze, he nodded at the sight of the blood. Shukaku's grasp over his psyche was lifting, but nonetheless he still felt uneasy. Suddenly, he realized something. Turning back to her, his eyes became bewildered.

"You've never…?" His words stopped.

She knew what he was trying to ask. _"Have you ever seen someone be killed?"_ was a question left unspoken, and she averted her eyes in shame. Sensing her answer, he felt guilt swell into his chest. He might have frightened her, he thought.

"I'll give you advice, as a comrade." He began, closing his eyes as he stood. When he opened his ringed-eyes, his expression was cleansed of emotion. "If you plan on being a shinobi, you have to accept death as part of your duty. It's kill or be killed in this world, with those two sides fighting for control. Sometimes it comes down to a choice." Gesturing towards the bloodied stone, his gaze softened, her eyes following. "You can't always show mercy when your enemies are bent on killing you… like that one."

"I understand," She spoke with a subtle nod as she looked down. "I'm… sorry."

"I can see it in your eyes,"

Catching her attention, she looked up to face him. Standing, the sting of her wound eased as she met his turquoise eyes. There was something different about his glance, she thought – there was a glint of sympathy in his eyes.

"You're a kind-hearted person. I understand that this is difficult for you." He said. "The shinobi lifestyle will become easier with time, I assure you."

Relieved, she gave a nod as light smile formed on her lips. "Thanks, Gaara."

As his sand passed her the dropped katana, she returned it to the sheath on her back and finished her scheduled guard duty with him. The night was long and tiring, but that was to be expected if one stands guard. To think there are shinobi who nothing but just that, she thought to herself in amazement.

Soon enough, the moon faded beyond the sands as the sun started to rise…

* * *

As she walked through the streets alone, she noticed that the streets were near empty that morning.

Alarming her senses greatly, she sensed a shiver. Brushing off her instincts, she continued on her way home. Making her way into a darkened alley pathway towards her apartment, she could feel a looming presence edging closer – her senses once again bothering her, alerting her to every inch of her surroundings. Startled by the chakra's feel, she continued on her way home with cautious eyes – frightened by their advances, her pace in the alley becoming faster.

Suddenly, a kunai was thrown at her from the distance – prompting her to run for cover. Swiftly, she dodged a second one – flipping backwards to avoid her, solidifying her stance in the sand as she readied herself for combat.

"Heh, heh…"

Jolting from the menacing chuckle, she turned around to face her willing opponent.

Upon seeing them, she froze.

As the fading sunset gleamed onto their headband, she could see where their allegiance. Ishigakure, from the Land of Claws – the nation that shared a border with her homeland. Towering above her in his threatening stance, she could feel his strength in the air around them. Chunin-level and above, she suspected - and he was not the only one. When she looked around herself as she nervously took her fighting stance, she found that she was surrounded by three more.

"Is this the one we've been looking for?"

The towering Ishi ninja before her nodded. "Sure is…" He replied. "She has that rare eye color… No doubt about it, she's a Yamamori wolf."

Gulping, Nomasaki felt her legs trembling below as she backed herself into a corner. "W-What do you want from me?" She stammered, nervously.

The leader of the squad smirked at her frightened expression. "Your Kekkei Genkai," He answered. "What else?"

* * *

When Gaara returned from guard duty, he scanned through the village streets as he arrived closer to his home.

Noticing the present absence of life in the plaza, something seemed odd to him - the quiet scene speaking a thousand words as he felt an unfamiliar chakra presence nearby, Shukaku stirring inside of him from the feel. He could tell that it was not from Suna.

Something was amiss.

Hearing a bump in the nearby alleyway, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

- _Outsiders…?_ -

- _Keh!_ \- Shukaku scoffed in his psyche. - _That wolf is gone... I was starting to think she'd never leave...!_ -

Her froze in his steps. Sensing the beast stir silently within him, he gave into its will for conversation.

 _What do you mean_ , he asked inside his thoughts - _speak_.

No surprise to him, his tailed-beast refused to give an answer. Much to his dismay, Shukaku was too proud to explain himself. Staying silent within its botched seal, its voice disappeared within his mind once more.

Unsettling him, he reluctantly resumed his path back to his home...

* * *

Within the village alleyways, a squad of ten concealed ANBU sprinted towards the village's exit in flashes of bounding shadows.

Following commands to investigate the sudden silence of the downtown core, they hid amongst the rising darkness. Halting in their pursuit, their shocked glances found the bloodied bodies of the slain ninja who were unfortunate enough to be guarding the perimeter that day. Their bodies painted the sands red as the squad of ANBU looked on in disbelief and urgency.

They were certain that an enemy has infiltrated their village…


	7. A Monster

**Chapter 7  
** **A Monster**

* * *

As the early hours of morning arrived…

A sudden, strange commotion in the village streets burst through the village atmosphere – phases of loud snarling and growling alarming all those around the village center. Noticing the noises from outside, Kankuro – who was barely put together that early in the morning, his face paint not yet applied – approached the open window from their living room.

"Hey," Kankuro said, gesturing to the streets below. "What's going on down there?"

Curious from his brother's words, Gaara made his way towards him from across the rug-covered floor. Narrowing his eyes, he peered into the village streets from their view – scanning for what was causing the commotion. Upon seeing it, their eyes widened - barging through the crowds of Sand ninja and destroying shops was a large white wolf. Standing larger than a horse with strong and agile limbs, it leapt over the shinobi who were trying to tame it. Throwing lassos towards it, some of the ninja tried to tie it down with rope, aiming for its sharply clawed paws that tore through the earth below - but the wolf's keen yellow eyes saw them coming towards it. Viciously, it lashed out at them, knocking them out into the crowd of on-lookers – unrelenting.

The wolf was in a frenzy, blinded by pure rage.

"A wolf?" Kankuro asked himself, curiously. "This is really weird… what's going on?"

Perplexed by the sight, Gaara remained silent – glaring at the wolf from a distance in unnerved suspicion. The only time he ever witnessed a wolf in the village was when he met Nomasaki's feral gaze months ago – were the two wolves connected?

In silence, he kept his thoughts to himself.

* * *

From his brother's insistence, Gaara accompanied him into the crowd of onlookers in the plaza – watching the large beast knock away countless opponents with ease. The puppet corps was standing idly by, waiting for the opportune time to strike on command – as accordingly, Kankuro wanted to lend a hand.

"Quick! Out of the way!"

With great strength, the wolf lashed out at more of the advancing Sand ninja - knocking them away within the blink of an eye, its growls ripping through the very air around them. Threateningly, as its muzzle flared, the wolf glared at the crowd before it - barring its pearl white fangs as it snarled, awaiting its next brave challenger. Meeting its gaze, Gaara stepped forward towards it – accepting its vicious challenge as he could feel Shukaku stir lightly in excitement from the prospect of battle.

"Wait," Kankuro called out, grabbing his arm. "Gaara!"

His path halted, Gaara paused his footsteps on the sandy earth at his feet – narrowing his eyes ahead at the beast that taunted him with a snarl. "I can handle this," He said. "Trust me…"

Biting his tongue, Kankuro's gaze remained on him – his eyes visibly concerned and serious. Understanding, he let go of his arm draped in burgundy fabric and mesh – watching him approach the beast that awaited its next foe as its licked its muzzle in anticipation. Alone, Gaara stood before the great wolf with his arms crossed against his chest - murmurs sweeping throughout the crowd of terrified onlookers.

"He's going to fight the wolf?"

"Is he mad?!"

"That wolf's no match for Gaara!"

"I don't know. The wolf's pretty strong…"

Gritting his teeth, Kankuro looked on – wondering what could have possessed him to want to challenge such a strange monster.

With narrowed eyes, Gaara glared at the wolf - calm, collected, and ready to fight – placing Shukaku's gnaws of his psyche on the backburner. Suddenly, it lunged out at him with its fangs and claws – diving directly towards him in a ghostly wave of white. Quickly, he dodged the wolf's attack, and with a movement of his arm, a stream of sand flew from the gourd on his back - towards the beast with powerful agility. Surprising the crowd as they cowered from its shadow, the wolf evaded his sand - lunging towards him again in fierce strength.

With quick thinking, Gaara moved his arm in front of him, sending a stream of sand in its direction.

Shocking the wolf, the sand knocked it away with surmountable force – sending it into a wooden cart, shattering it into a thousand pieces. Once the wolf was far enough away, Gaara placed his palms onto the ground below – resisting the urge to crush its limbs with his Sand Coffin jutsu. Before the wolf could gather itself from its fall, the sand grabbed its limbs, swirling around its paws - restraining the beast to the hot earth at their feet.

Rearing its head towards him, the beast gave a vicious snarl from its closed jaws – its eyes boring through Gaara as he stood uninjured.

"Gaara," Kankuro approached from behind, his eyes narrowed in suspicion at the restrained wolf in the sand. "Do you think this wolf is the cause for the causalities reported this morning?"

Examining its feral and threatening expression, Gaara glanced at the white beast – pondering many things. "I don't think so," He shook his head of crimson. "Judging by the beast's appearance, the damage would've been more severe."

"Sir!"

Surprising the two brothers, a shinobi Suna ANBU appeared beside them – knelt down as the cloud surrounding their teleportation jutsu faded away. "That is correct. The slain men found had stab wounds… most likely from kunai."

"So that means we've been infiltrated, but…" Kankuro acknowledged – glaring at the wolf ahead of them. "… by who?"

"Where…"

The wolf's jaws snarled, its nostrils flaring. Jarring them, Kankuro and Gaara's eyes widened, turning to the beast in astonishment - it could speak? The wolf's growl grew louder.

"Where is she…? Where… is she?!" Its large ghost-white body thrashed about, trying to resist the powerful grasp from the sand – the wolf's muzzle curling in disgust for the Sand ninja surrounding it. "What did you do to her?! I can sense her chakra within this village! Where did you hide her?!"

"What on earth… is it talking about?!" Kankuro stammered, shocked at its verbal spurts.

Gaara's ringed-eyes narrowed, puzzled at the wolf's speech-laden growls – where is 'she'? Who was it searching for? What would cause a large brute wolf to arrive in Suna, where the largest canids are the desert jackals? Then, his memory jolted – it all slowly began to make sense to him. The odd feeling he felt last night when he returned to the village, the slain Sunagakure ninja – it all pointed to the foreigner.

"Nomasaki," He spoke, his eyes looking at the beast in stoic understanding. "From the Yamamori clan, of Yamagakure."

Surprised, Kankuro turned to him. "You mean that new genin? You mean to tell me it's looking for her?"

"I... think it's her guardian," Gaara said, his eyes locked on the beast before them. "Hanone -,"

"What did you Sand ninja do to her?!" The wolf snarled through its barred fangs. "Where's Nomasaki?!" The wolf's claws dug further into the earth below, trying desperately to break free. "I know she's here! Her chakra is radiating from this place! Explain yourself, you bastard Sand ninja! Tell me where she is!"

Gaara looked down for a moment as he pondered - remembering the chakra he sensed the day before, the outsiders – with no sign of the foreigner anywhere. As Kankuro left to be with the puppet corps, he soon found himself alone.

"Come on, where is she? We've been waiting all morning!"

An annoyed voice groaned – catching Gaara's attention. As he turned to the direction of the voice, he seen two genin conversing with each other within the crowd that stood by – a bandage-clad boy and a girl wearing a green quipao dress – both of them confused and taken aback by something. Then he realized - they were Nomasaki's teammates.

"Beats me," Meiyumi answered. "She's never late for a mission! What could be taking her so long?"

"She had guard duty last night..." Shinto pondered to himself. "So that leaves...-,"

His words came to a halt as he suddenly realized who stood across from him on the village street. Standing before the great wolf bound by sand, Gaara was in his sights. With eyes fraught with anger, Shinto bolted towards him with his fist cocked behind him.

"You bastard!"

A loud crack filled the air as his fist made contact with Gaara's sand shield. Shocked by his sudden lunge, Gaara met Shinto's anger-filled eyes with an expression of pure bewilderment. Surrounding him like a cocoon was his automatic shield of sand, separating the distance between him and Shinto's strike. Gnashing his teeth, Shinto pushed his fist forward against the grains, his bloodied knuckles desperately trying to break through Gaara's defences.

"Shinto!" Meiyumi yelled, rushing towards him. "What do you think you're doing?! Stop it!"

"It's his fault!" Shinto shot back. "She was on guard duty with him last night! He had to have killed her -!"

Suddenly, the sand pushed him back across the street, his feet skidding along the sand-ridden ground. The words pierced Gaara like a rusted blade, twisting at his guilt for the monster he once was. While the sand returned to his gourd, he calmed his stance and shot him a glare from his ringed-eyes.

"I didn't kill her," He objected, his voice serious and dark. "Nomasaki left her post last night and went home. I didn't have any part in this -,"

"You lying bastard!" Picking up his stance, Shinto held his fists clenched at his sides. "Then where is she?! Tell us!"

Gaara jolted. He did not know how to answer.

All he knew was that they went their separate ways after their shared guard duty, nothing more. His eyes growing concerned as he gathered his thoughts, he pondered for a moment while his gaze averted to the ground. The snarls of the restrained wolf before them were filling the air, breaking the scarce silence in between. There was only one possibility of why she was missing, and why the village was infiltrated by enemies who killed their patrolling shinobi. The worst-case scenario.

"I think… she may have been taken…" He began, his tone and expression calm, in contrast to the thrashing wolf across from his stance. "…by the ninja who attacked last night."

Shinto was suddenly lost for words, unnerved by the possibility.

Sensing his chakra before him, the restrained beast could tell Gaara was not lying - he was telling the truth, and the constant and stable feel of his chakra proved it. As the wolf narrowed its yellow eyes at him, it sensed something lurking within him - Shukaku's chakra lingering on his skin.

"And what do you say to that?" The beast snarled. "You could be lying... Why shouldn't i just devour you while I have the chance?"

Stepping closer to the restrained wolf, Gaara gazed towards it with a stern expression - peering straight into its monstrous yellow eyes.

"…I'll help you save her."

* * *

As they reached the shadows of the forest canopy, Nomasaki could feel her bones aching inside.

The brutal desert heat scorched her skin and thawed her, just like it did only a few months ago. The Land of Rivers detour was their next trek before reaching Ishigakure: the village of the so-called 'barbarians' – a village that prided itself in remaining both neutral and hostile to other lands. With a long history of fighting the Yamamori clan of Yama for centuries, the odds of her survival were not in her favour. Deep down, she knew her time was done – cut rapidly short by her ill-decision to walk home alone. Tiredly, she walked on with her kidnappers through the brush - her legs ready to give out at any second. Her hands were tightly tied behind her back with rope, making jutsu or escape impossible.

Weakly, she stumbled on her knees, scrapping them against the cooling earth as she fell.

"Get up!" The squad leader barked, pulling on her rope. "Useless bitch...!"

Her eyes narrowing in reluctance, she refused to comply. Noticing her silent rebellion, the enemy scoffed at her with a disgruntled expression. Glaring at him in return, she could feel her fangs grow inside of her mouth – rage boiling in her blood. After a shared glare, she suddenly felt a strong and brute force strike her back - pressing her into the dirt as she winced in pain.

"If you want to be buried so bad, go ahead!" He spat, his foot pressing her harder against the ground as she cried out. "Join your ancestors! You rotten wolf-!"

"Hey, now! Quit it!" Another Ishigakure ninja intervened. "We need her alive! Did you forget that? That was our mission, we need the last Yamamori alive!"

Wincing, she glared up at the ninja who stood on her. Her eyes defeated, yet still retaining some determination. "I'm not the last one." She spoke under her breath, her voice unheard from her enemies. "I'm not."

Slowly, as if to purposely cause her more pain, their foot lifted off her back. Panting quietly, Nomasaki stood back up on her feet - staggering in exhaustion. Continuing on their death-march, they were slowly approaching the border of the Land of Claws – a wasteland of dried earth, volcanic ash, and discontent – and its village, Ishigakure. She could feel her forgotten homeland in the winds to the northwest of where they stood - aching in her chest from the memories as the strong rays of sunlight reflected upon the Sand ninja headband on her forehead. Covered in scratches and dirt from her captors wrangling her, she weakly kept on - grasping persistently to her survival instincts that were screaming at her to fight back. They have been travelling nonstop for almost an entire day, and she knew she could not keep going any longer.

Exhaustion and dehydration clouded her mind and body.

As she stepped upon the forest floor, she could feel a presence watching her closely. Paying no mind, she tried to push away the feeling. To her, it felt almost as if a Third Eye was watching her. Unbeknownst to her, the Third Eye Jutsu was observing her painful journey from the cover of the forest canopy – scanning the area carefully with a hint of bloodlust and calculating an opportunity for ambush. Suddenly, she froze in her tracks as she felt a strong and familiar presence approaching - and it was arriving fast. Her dried eyes widening in shock and sadness, they glistened from the feel of the feral and musky presence.

A beast.

"Hey! Move it!" The Ishi ninja spit through his teeth, pulling on her rope to move her forward. "I said move it! Or did you want another beat down?!"

Jolting the Ishi ninja, there was a rustling in the bushes followed by a deep beast-like growl - rumbling the canopy in feral rage. The squad of Ishi ninja paused, alerted from the snarls. "What was that?"

All of the sudden, a great white flash swept past them – lunging forward with fangs and claws. Panicked, the Ishi ninja dropped the rope binding Nomasaki to their capture – swinging kunai in the direction of the ghostly figure. As the flash passed by her violently, she clung onto it – closing her eyes in fear of it going straight through her - taken away by it into the shrouded forest. When the squad leader noticed their hostage was gone, his teeth clenched in frustration.

"What the hell was that?" He glared at the forest edge. "Some kind of… monster?"

Followed by the white flash was a stream of sand - heading towards the four Ishi ninja in great speed. After they evaded the sudden attack, they saw a figure appear from the forest's shadow - glaring at them.

"That's as far as you go." Gaara spoke. As the sand returned inside his gourd - his ringed-eyes furrowing at them as his fists clenched with anger and control as he could feel Shukaku stir inside of him, excited by the prospect of upcoming battle.

"Heh," The squad leader smirked, meeting his glare. "You're just a kid."

Swiftly, two of the Ishi ninja darted towards him with kunai. "Finish him! We need the girl alive!"

* * *

Behind the shadowed towering trees, Nomasaki slowly opened her eyes.

Noticing that she was no longer in motion, she suddenly felt the familiar chakra wrap itself around her again. It felt like home. Startled, she realized that she was buried into the cover of coarse white fur, its scent musky and fraught with animal. Her heart felt as it it could burst in relief. Surprised and crying, her violet eyes opened up to the sight of the large white wolf she called her guardian - Hanone.

"Hanone!" She cried, her eyes glistening – grasping his mane and burying her face into his snow-white fur. "You're alive!"

"Nomasaki, are you hurt?" Hanone asked, urgently.

Looking up to him, she shook her head. As her fingers grazed the white fur that sprouted through her hands, she suddenly felt something sharp and pointed protruding. Moving the blanket of white away, her wet eyes widened at the sight of a kunai still lodged into his skin. There were four that she could see, all of their hilts near hidden by his fur. They must have been there since the attack on Yama, she thought, terrified.

"Hanone, you're injured -! How did... How did you escape?"

"Those bastards..." He grumbled through his jaws. "They hunted me for days... It took me four nights to get them off my trail, and four nights to devour them all."

His words frightened her. "They hunted you -?"

"Yamagakure is destroyed. All who survived fled to other lands... those foul armored men burnt everything in their wake... It's a village of ash, now."

Swallowing her rising sobs and fright, she edged her fingers closer to his impaled wounds. "Here," She said, gingerly reaching for the weapons. "I'll help you -,"

With a ghastly bark from his massive fang-ridden jaws, the wolf snapped as his protégée pulled out the kunai that impaled him. The weapons were lodged deeply into his thick skin, with faint sprays of crimson releasing from each one pulled. As the fourth and final one hit the forest floor, Nomasaki took out a healing ointment from her shuriken holster on her thigh. Carefully, she covered the faint wounds that dotted the wolf's skin, brushing over the white fur to conceal them when she was finished.

"Come," Hanone said, his yellow eyes glancing to her. "We must leave!"

Her exhausted mind was startled by his words, but then she remembered what was happening. If Hanone had not found her when she did, she would have been at the border to the Land of Claws by that time - and she would have been dead. Suddenly, she sensed a familiar and dense chakra on the winds as the tree leaves above swayed sharply. Alerting her, she whipped her head towards the clearing of the thicket that surrounded them.

Standing across from her bulking kidnappers, there he stood - arms crossed and glaring towards them while his sand flayed restlessly.

"Wait - Gaara -!" She stammered, taken aback by the sight. "Why is he -?"

Hanone turned back to the battlefield in the distance, a subtle snarl escaping his jaws while he sensed the tailed-beast evoke its ghastly presence on the winds. Turning back to her, he noticed her eyes were full of fear. They were taking in the strength of the battle before her, filled to the brim with images of sand and fire - the fire chilling through her like a nightmare.

* * *

Unrelenting, the Ishi ninja charged forward.

By the movement of his arm, Gaara used his sand to knock them away - effortlessly. Once they were in his grasp, he closed his fists – ending their lives as blood spurted from the sand's grasp.

"Sand Coffin!"

After the attack, he could feel Shukaku gnaw at his psyche - slowly and incessantly, excited by the sight of blood on the forest floor.

- _Crush them... Crush them ALL...!_ \- Shukaku gnawed. - _The seal is weak enough... You know you want to...!_ -

Suddenly, the forest battlefield was engulfed in flames from an encompassing fire-release jutsu. Using his sand to protect himself, Gaara was shielded from the attack – protected and unscathed. Once the fire died, he used his sand to attack the Ishi ninja who cast the jutsu - knocking him far into the forest, bleeding. Realizing he could not win the battle, the third Ishi ninja fled - back to Ishigakure without the hostage and the guilt of a failed mission - and then there was one left…

"You're pretty strong for a kid," The squad leader smirked. "So this is what Suna has been hiding from us!" Solidifying his stance, the enemy sneered. "Gaara of the Sand Waterfall... is that right?"

With narrowed turquoise eyes, Gaara glared at him - tensely. "It doesn't matter," He warned. "Your botched mission ends here!"

Shukaku was stirring stronger than before, its presence striking pain in his muscles and psyche. His muscle tinged with a burning pain, subtly boiling the blood beneath his skin. He felt the burn trace its way all the way from his seal to his temple, pulsing in his ear. Gritting his teeth, he pushed it back into his psyche as he sent forth a stream of sand towards the enemy.

- _All this blood..._ \- Shukaku echoed. - _The blood... Let me make you feel alive...!_ -

The burn grew harsh, his teeth gnashing as he countered the enemy's oncoming attacks with his sand. He could feel his body grow weak, his mind growing fuzzy as he tried to focus on his target before him. Damn it all, he thought - Shukaku was being persistent. And the blood was exciting him, too.

"Well then," The Ishi ninja began. "I'll keep this short... and burn you alive!" He formed hand-signs with incredible speed – forcefully slamming his palm onto the earth below him.

Suddenly, the very ground below shook with intense magnitude in a wave-like motion while the flames burst forth like geysers of red fire. Standing his ground, Gaara formed a hand-sign himself - ready to end the battle with his Sand Tsumani, ignoring the tailed-beast's pleas for possession. Just before he could use his jutsu, his heartbeat suddenly pounded through him - freezing him, ringing through his very eardrums ominously.

He knew the dreadful feeling well.

- _No…! Not now…!_ \- He thought, clenching his teeth.

Suddenly, a great wave of pain thundered throughout his body. Falling to his knees, he writhed in agony. The change was taking hold. Burning throughout his veins, the tailed-beast's chakra suddenly burst forth. Flowing from his seal, he felt as if every fiber of his body were on fire, spreading to his neck and jaw and prickling every nerve. His Sand Armor that painted his face suddenly cracked in large crevices, splitting his face as he wailed in pain.

Slowly, the sand from his gourd began to spread onto the right side of his body and began to take shape into something truly grotesque.

The feared sand-spirit of the desert.

* * *

Frightened, Nomasaki witnessed the horrid transformation from the cover of the trees and their shadows.

The feel of the chakra was unlike anything she had ever felt. It was even more frightening to her, its full power ripe on the brisk winds of the forest. Hearing his yells of pain only made it worse. The sands appeared to be cracking through his body, distorting his shape into a sand-ridden mass of ferocity. She could feel the chills sneak through her spine, her instincts screaming at her to flee on sight.

"W-What is happening to him?" She asked, trembling. "What's going on?!"

With his narrowed beastly eyes observing the sight, Hanone watched – confirming his suspicions. The boy was indeed a jinchuriki, he could sense it on his skin upon first sight. And he had a dangerous lack of control.

- _So… that is the source of his vile chakra… Shukaku…_ \- He thought. - _How foul..._ -

Turning towards Nomasaki who crouched fearfully behind the thicket, his jaws released a sharp growl. "Nomasaki, we have to leave - now!"

She could not bring herself to look away.

As he writhed in pain on his knees, the tailed-beast's form had begun to emerge on his body.

Crying out, a massive stream of sand spewed from his body, covering him in its concealment. Solidifying, the sand morphed into the first stage of Shukaku possession. Its purple-seal inscriptions swirling around its arm and tail that clung to its host as if like a parasite. As the transformation was complete, the jinchuriki turned towards the adversary – its horrifying expression locked onto them in a menacing nature, all signs of Gaara's control eroded from his mind.

As she watched on in visible horror from his appearance and strength, Nomasaki remembered the words he said to her on the night they first met.

" _I'm a jinchuriki... I possess Shukaku, the one-tail. I was considered a monster by my villagers, a terror..._ "

Fearfully, her fingers trembled as her hand was held towards her throat - her wolfish instincts telling her to run as far away as she can. But she could not bring herself to leave him. She was frozen where she sat amongst the shadows. Hanone's words fell on deaf ears.

"Gaara..." She murmured, frightened.

* * *

 **Notes:** Nomasaki's wolf-summon, Hanone, carries some meaning to his name.

Hanone (歯の根) can be directly translated to "root of a tooth" in Japanese, which is related to him being a wolf/canid. Hanone's appearance and size in the story was inspired by the wolves of Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke (1998), particularly Moro the wolf-god.


	8. Jinchuriki of Suna

**Chapter 8  
** **Jinchūriki of Suna**

* * *

He appeared as if a monster.

Covering the right half of his body was a layer of hardened sand resembling the shape of Shukaku's arm and tail – the first phase of the one-tail's possession was completed. As if split, the left side of his face was mired by purple inscriptions and sand in Shukaku's likeness – the tailed-beast's eerie black pupil and sharp jagged teeth as evidence for its bloodlust.

From afar, the Ishi ninja smirked at his true form. "No wonder you're so powerful at your age," He exclaimed, eager to fight. "You're a jinchuriki!"

With a gaze that hungered for blood, Gaara's menacing eyes glared at the enemy – the eyes of Shukaku boring into his foe, the eyes of a monster. Desperately, he was fighting a war in his mind to regain control of his actions and urges - battling fiercely.

"Get out… of… my head…!" He growled, his limbs trembling as he crouched in agony.

To his dismay, Shukaku decided to emerge at the worst possible timing. After countless hours of meditation and training, he was still in a tug-of-war battle to keep Shukaku at bay - its urges still too strong for him to handle alone.

* * *

 _Suddenly, he was inside his mind..._

 _Looking up from his closed eyes as he stood, he sensed something burgeoning behind him. Turning around, his eyes widened – Shukaku was sitting across from him on the water-covered ground, its massive body casting a shadow over his stance._

 _"So… you're here." It scoffed at him, darkly. "It took me awhile, but this fight really got me going! I'm going to slaughter them all!"_

 _Glaring in exchange, he faced it alone and unafraid. "Why are you like this?" He questioned, sternly. "I can fight on my own, I don't need your help!"_

 _"Help?!"_

 _Forcefully, Shukaku slammed its sharp paws onto the ground - making the water ripple as their surroundings shook from the weight. In a threatening and intimidating nature, it leaned forward towards him._

 _"I'm not helping YOU! I want to help myself! There's so much blood to be spilt, and so little time!"_

 _Gaara's eyes narrowed at it. "I told you: I'm not doing that anymore." He barked. "I've found my resolve. I don't need to kill to prove I exist."_

 _"Hm?"_

 _"I've set out a new path for myself, I'm a Sand ninja that will one day be Kazekage. I'll protect the village and everyone in it."_

 _"Oh," Shukaku scoffed. "So you think you're better than me, huh?!" Whipping its tail, it gave a monstrous grin. "Don't forget! I'm the reason why you're so strong at your age, and the reason why you can't sleep at night!"_

 _"I can deal without sleep, but my strength comes from me and my will to protect my comrades!"_

 _Taken aback by his words, Shukaku leaned away. Gaara stepped forward, strong in his resolve against the tailed-beast. "I don't need you interfering with my psyche. Not anymore." He said. "Your words can no longer brainwash me."_

 _"Tsk... Why you little runt! Just because I'm a tailed beast doesn't mean you can talk down to me like a dog!" Its tail whipped once again, displaying its sand-covered body with ancient purple markings. "You may think you can beat me… but I'll always be itching to take over your body and kill all the humans! Like the ones who sealed me... the bastards!"_

 _"Shukaku," Gaara began, his voice calm. Looking down, he closed his eyes – almost as if in empathy for the monster. "If I could have a choice, I would not be a jinchuriki. But that fate was decided when I was born, and I had no control over that." For a moment, Shukaku's frustration dissipated as he listened to his words. "We're in this together as jinchuriki and tailed-beast… we should try to cooperate." Gaara continued, opening his eyes. "But for now," Clapping his hands together, chakra suddenly began to flow around him, creating a powerful wind. "I'm sealing you further!"_

 _As the feel of wind and power flowing past the tailed-beast forcefully, Shukaku looked on at his jinchuriki – a changed young boy who overcame his violent urges. As he continued to watch his stance from his jutsu, he was reminded of the Sage of Six Paths and the old monk who was his jinchuriki many years ago – seeing them in Gaara's stance. Curious and not the least bit defensive, he accepted his jinchuriki's attempt at subduing his chakra._

 _-Alright then, runt… let's see if you truly can handle me… and my power…!-_

* * *

In the blink of an eye, the lone Ishi ninja leapt into the air - throwing paper bombs at Gaara's monstrous form.

With a blinding flash of debris and fire, the projectiles exploded as soon as they made contact with his sand-covered arm - not injuring him whatsoever. Violently, the sand surrounding his arm extended, grabbing the Ishi ninja and throwing him to the ground in the distance - shattering the very earth beneath him with a loud ear-splitting crash. Unconscious from his grave-injuries, he laid on the now-shattered earth of the forest – blood leaking from his nose and mouth as his eyes turned white.

With frightened eyes, Nomasaki watched Gaara's tailed-beast state, her hands trembling at the sight of Shukaku's grasp onto his body and mind - shuddering from the presence of the vile chakra that cloaked him. As she looked from beyond the cover of the unscathed forest, she could tell he was trying to fight back for control over his actions - an expression on pain on his grotesque sand-covered face. He was inhuman – gleaming jagged teeth that whispered snarls and the beast's eerie pupil scanning the perimeter. The jinchuriki of Suna, as he told her when they first met.

Shukaku had partially emerged.

- _This is what he was talking about… The one-tail…_ \- She thought to herself, trembling beside Hanone as they watched the battle from afar.

Standing across the battlefield from the unconscious Ishi ninja, Gaara stood panting – his chakra sapped by the ever-demanding needs of his tailed-beast.

Gritting his fanged teeth as he stood on the sand beneath his feet, he grasped his head of crimson hair tightly, attempting to resist Shukaku's growing urges for blood and its call for power. With what little of his control he maintained, he was struggling to keep within his reach as Shukaku's will wanted nothing more than to destroy everything in his path – as he used to enjoy while psychologically tormented by the beast, mania returning to his mind although briefly. Feeling his muscles contract painfully, waves of agony ruptured through him as he could feel the sand expand along his body – his bid for control slowly receding as Shukaku's chakra pounded through his veins. His teeth gnashed in pain and resistance, the tailed-beast's influence forced him to raise his morphed hand towards the unconscious enemy – feeling its growing cover of sand and bloodlust swell - ready to kill the Ishi ninja once and for all with Shukaku's brutal strength as he was desperately trying to restrain the urge.

Sensing the rising dreadful chakra in the air, Nomasaki looked on in horror as she seen Gaara's sand-covered arm reach towards the defeated foe – his eyes bloodshot and possessed, his will barely grasping hold to his psyche. Her fingers trembling as she watched, she could feel the pain conveyed by his expression – not wanting to use Shukaku's power in the slightest but losing in the battle to fend off its urges.

"Hurry!"

Jolting her, she turned to Hanone at her back. Meeting the wolf's feral yellow eyes, she knew what she must do for her own safety. Swallowing her fear, she hopped on her wolf's back, securing her fingers into his coarse white fur as she grasped his mane. With a lurch, the massive wolf leapt from the shadows, bounding across the forest floor against the brisk and cool winds. His black claws scrapped against the green earth below, the wind whipping her gold hair against her face as they fled the thicket.

Running, why was she always running - she thought to herself.

Her body shaking, she put her fear in his chakra aside. A sudden rush of bravery filled her chest, propelling her forward. Grasping Hanone's fur tighter, she pulled towards the battlefield. Gaara was within her sights. With a snarl, the wolf heaved, his body changing coarse through the forest.

"Nomasaki! What's the meaning of this?!" He barked. "What are you doing?!"

"We can't leave him!" She shouted from her mount. "I have to help him!"

Reluctantly, the great wolf accepted her change of path. Dashing through the sea of trees, she saw the clearing directly ahead. Her legs shaking underneath as she tried to stand on her wolf's back, she saw him. Taking in a courageous breath, she faced her fear. Shifting her skin for fur, she leapt from Hanone's back as a wolf. Bounding towards him as she entered the open clearing where the trees ended, her feral violet eyes locked onto his back. Shukaku's tail was whipping behind him, the ghastly purple-laden sands covering half his body in possession.

She saw her chance.

"Wait!" Hanone called, his voice snarling at her from the cover of the trees. "Nomasaki! It's not safe! He's a jinchuriki!"

Growling at her from the thicket, he watched her run towards him – not listening to his words of warning as she sprinted to the crossfire. She knew she did not stand a chance against his strength, but she had to do something to help him – but what? Swallowing her fear, she kept on towards him.

Suddenly, a stream of sand flew towards her. Sensing its approach, she dodged it, her claws scrapping against the earth as she slid away in haste. Another quickly approached, breaking apart into a flurry and hail of sand. Keeping on her charge, the wolf barred its muzzle and kept on. As it ran through the storm of sand projectiles, it was struck above the shoulder, the beast letting out a bark-like wince form its jaws. A faint haze of crimson sprayed from its wound.

Approaching closer, she changed her form back to human, her scrapped legs pushing herself to get to him in time. With a wince from the red leaking into the white fabric that covered her shoulder, she moved her trembling body forward – running forward towards him across the forest floor, gritting her teeth in efforts to suppress her fright and sorrow - fighting her senses against the vile chakra.

"Gaara, stop!" She yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You're not a monster! You're not Shukaku! Please, stop!"

As she ran closer, Shukaku's demonic eyes had seen her – shooting a glance towards her in pure mania. Before Gaara could react to her presence, she threw her arms around him, burying her silent sobs into his sand-covered chest.

"Please -!" She begged. "Stop -!"

From the feel of her warm and comforting embrace, his possessed eyes of Shukaku widened greatly.

Feeling his heartbeat once again pound through his ears, the tailed-beast's power rumbled through him. As she clutched onto him, she could feel something flowing around her feet. Glancing down, her eyes widened at the sight in terror. Slowly, his sand was suddenly rising towards her, grasping onto her legs – its hold tightened aggressively, as if its goal was to smother her. Fearfully, she closed her eyes tightly as she could feel her body tremble in its clutches.

Her hold onto him became tighter as the sand crept up onto her torso, its grip on her frame tightening as if to crush.

* * *

 _Within Gaara's internal chamber with his tailed-beast…_

 _Opening his eyes from the jutsu, the seal on Shukaku was finally set. Suddenly, a series of gated barriers fell onto Shukaku's neck and tail – falling from above in great might as they crashed onto the water-covered ground below._

 _"Ungh!" Shukaku wailed, as it was secured into place._

 _With the gates clasped onto it, the tailed-beast could no longer possess its jinchuriki – bested by the host who contained him._

 _"It's done. You can't try to control me anymore!" Gaara shouted, glaring into its monstrous pupils from afar. "Only I can control myself now."_

 _"You…! Bastard!" Shukaku growled, attempting to reach its sand towards him – but failing in each attempt. "You'll regret this one day… I'll make sure of it!"_

 _Forming a single hand-sign, Gaara gave the beast a slight smirk in torment – his single victory against the tailed-beast lifting the burden off his shoulders for the first time._ _"Until next time, Shukaku." He said, as the sand-ridden winds surrounded him in his mind – disappearing from the chamber within a gust of desert wind._

 _Laying down in defeat, Shukaku smirked in its sorry-state of ridicule – out-witted by his young jinchuriki who contained him for thirteen years._

 _-I guess he managed to do it after all… Oh well… it was fun while it lasted… Maybe… I should leave him alone… for the time being, at least…- The beast thought, amused by what the future may hold._

* * *

Within an instant of the sealing, the jinchuriki's eyes turned wide with the final pulse of strength.

Shukaku's monstrous sand crumbled and fell off Gaara's crouched body onto the earth below, – releasing Nomasaki from its grasp as it reached her neck. Worn from her capture and her risky maneuver, she fell to her knees panting and shaking from her near-death experience. Once the sand was gone and all traces of Shukaku non-existent, his ringed-eyes reverted back to normal – exuding the familiar turquoise shade she knew, a sign he regained complete consciousness of his reality.

"Nomasaki!" Gaara spoke, turning towards her – his expression surprised to see her so close to him. "How did you…-?"

Suddenly, the lone Ishi ninja laying within the crater coughed up blood – grinning to himself as blood began to flow from his mouth. "Die…" He whispered. "Turn to ash…"

Opening his flak jacket with his last remaining strength, hundreds of paper bombs were littered across his torso. Breathing a soft flame from his charred lips, one of the explosives were lit – alerting them to his direction. Willing to face death for the sake of the mission, the last mercenary accepted his fate with lips wet with iron as the paper tags reached the end of its trail.

Almost within an instant, Gaara quickly stood before her, startling her from his movements. In a matter of seconds, the sand at their feet rose from the command of his palms - forming an impressive shield of sand that protected both of them from the last-ditch effort of their adversary. Suddenly, the fiery explosion struck the shield with a large thundering bellow, the sands withstanding the blast with ease.

Then it was over.

Once the dust faded into nothing, Nomasaki looked up to him with surprised eyes as she sat upon the cold ground below. Overwhelmed with what she had witnessed, her pale cheeks were faintly blushing from his strength. Slowly, the sand returned to the ground beneath and into the shape of his discarded gourd.

"Are you... hurt?" He asked, turning to look at her.

Looking down at her crouched position, sadness and guilt entered his expression, realizing what had transpired – his Shukaku state, the sand that crept on her, the memory of seeing fear in her eyes. Then, he seen it. Grasped between her fingers on her shoulder was the wound, its red stained and dried upon her white clothes. Flashes of seeing her from his possessed eyes rang through him, and he remembered what he had done.

"I'm sorry... about Shukaku..." He said, his eyes averted from hers sadly. "I didn't mean to hurt you..."

His words jolted her from her daze, catching her off guard for a brief moment. "I… I'm fine."

Feigning a light smile, she tried to push aside the stinging wound on under her clutched palm. With a wince, she released it from her grasp. Her palm was soaked in old blood fraught with grains of sand. Before he turned away, he noticed the faint line of the cut he inflicted upon her only the day prior. although it was near healed, the sight sent a shiver through him, his gut twisting in guilt. And now he hurt her twice. Shame filling him, he averted his attention from her. Attempting to ignore his ominous chakra, she watched as the sand disappeared around them.

With slightly frightened eyes, she turned to him - his back facing her. "Why did you come to… save me?"

"You're a shinobi of Suna," He said, his tone calm and controlled. "You're a comrade." Surprised, she looked up at him as he turned to face her – his expression calm and appearing slightly empathetic. "...I didn't want to lose you."

Her eyes widening, she unknowingly blushed from his words - her heart suddenly feeling lighter in her chest. Softly, she gave a smile in relief – looking down at her sand-covered lap. "Thank you." She murmured. "And… I'm sorry… about this."

Walking forward over the remnants of the battle, Hanone approached the young jinchuriki - his massive jaws forming an expression of intrigue and disgust from sensing the dense chakra of his tailed-beast. "I must say," He spoke, his fangs showing. "You may be a sand-bastard, but you're certainly not useless. Thank you in helping me recover Nomasaki." Turning to the wolf, Gaara nodded in silence - acknowledging his words. "We're all we have left... being that her clan is forgotten, and our village now destroyed. Keeping Nomasaki safe is my purpose… as her mother wanted."

Sadly, Nomasaki held her head low from hearing the mention of her parent. Although two years passed since her loss, it still pained her to remember her death. Stepping forward, Hanone let out a vicious snarl directed towards him - standing only inches away from Gaara's stance in the sand.

"Just because you fought her captors doesn't mean you're exempt from my grudge I hold against you humans," He growled, barring his sharp teeth. In his threatening state, the fur on his arched back stood up as if they were daggers. "If you harm her... your head will rest within my jaws...!"

Gaara's eyes narrowed at the beast, glaring back in retaliation. "I won't hurt her." He promised, sternly. "You have my word as a Suna ninja, and as a jinchuriki."

From his snarl, a bellowing monstrous laugh emerged from Hanone's jaws, surprising and slightly confusing him from the wolf's reaction. "In due time..." The wolf uttered, then he turned his back towards him as he walked off towards his protégée - his long white tail whipping behind him.

"Hanone," Nomasaki spoke, as he approached closer to her. "Please don't threaten him. You said it yourself, he helped you save me."

Scoffing at her request, the wolf stood obediently beside where she sat on the forest floor. Weakly, she lifted herself up from the ground by grasping the thick fur on the wolf's legs. Wincing, she stood on her feet, panting from her thirst and hunger of walking with her captors - her strength severely depleted from the ordeal. Surprising her, a wave of sand beneath her feet swept under her, gingerly rising her up so she could mount on her wolf's back without straining herself. Once she was situated, she turned to Gaara, noticing his hand held out to direct the sand around them.

"Thanks." She nodded, gratefully. As the sand receded back into his gourd, he relaxed his arm. Turning to her, a small smile appeared on his lips.

"Nomasaki," Hanone started. "It's time we returned to the mountains. Yama is destroyed, but that's where-,"

"No, Hanone." She interrupted. From her words, the wolf growled under his breath. Looking towards the sunlight beaming through the trees, her eyes glistened - suppressing her sadness for her homeland. "We return to Suna," She replied. "That's my home now."

Glancing up at her on his back, the wolf's eyes narrowed – dismayed at her decision. "Are you sure about this?" He growled, quietly. "Is this what you choose?" Turning to him, she nodded - a saddened yet determined tint to her lilac eyes. "Very well… I will stand by your choice."

"I'll guide you," Gaara entered, stepping towards the direction of the desert. Pausing for a moment, he glanced behind him at the girl and her wolf guardian. "My sand abilities can be of use." He said, his face stoic. "The desert can be treacherous at times, so it's best to follow my path." Smiling, Nomasaki nodded - her eyes shining with comfort from her decision.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Hanone asked through his jaws. "You wish to live amongst the desert-folk in their village, and leave your homeland behind? You're an outsider… how can you even bring yourself to abandon who you are to appease these sand-bastards-?!"

"Hanone, I made my choice." She spoke, her tone stern. "You said it yourself… our clan is forgotten, our village destroyed…" Keeping her emotions in check from his remarks, a faint growl escaped her lips – her wolfishness briefly showing itself in her voice. "If you ask me again, I'll return you to your scroll…!"

"Hmph…!" He snarled at her. "You can barely walk as it is… but I challenge you to act against me while you're still only learning to control your Kekkei Genkai." Gulping from his retort, she averted her gaze – embarrassed and slightly frightened by his argument.

Noticing their finished squabble, Gaara started for the forest boundary – silently stepping through the dry earth towards the beginning of the vast desert. "We should go." He spoke, calmly. "Your team is waiting for you."

His words jolting her for a moment, she remembered her teammates – Meiyumi and Shinto, her friends. Warming her heart, she looked down with her eyes closed, smiling to herself as she became eager to return to them – remembering her new friends and comrades.

"Yes," She nodded. Patting the back of his neck with her hand, she smiled down at her wolf – who gnashed a growl towards the young jinchuriki before them. "Hanone, let's go."

Begrudgingly, as Nomasaki sat on top his back of white fur, Hanone followed the young Sunagakure ninja into the never-ending sands beyond the shrouded forest to Sunagakure.

Home…


	9. Bitter Blood

**Chapter 9**  
 **Bitter Blood**

* * *

Months passed since the unexpected arrival of the Ishigakure ninja to Suna in their quest to hunt down the last Yamamori bloodline – promptly defeated by the jinchuriki that dwelled in the desert village. Embarrassed by the botched mission of capture, Ishi once again disappeared into the shadows of obscurity as the other lands pondered the reasoning for their recent abrasive actions. As her life returned to its new 'normal', Nomasaki was summoned by her sensei to meet with her teammates concerning a potential new assignment. Curious as to what it was, the fourteen-year-old genin made her way down the sand-riddled village streets to their decided meeting place – a dumpling shop towards the central plaza. With wide eyes from her sensei's words, she sat before her team in the small shop – surprised at the proposed assignment.

"Chunin exams?"

"Hashira-sensei!" Meiyumi beamed excitedly. "Do you really mean it?"

"Yeah," He nodded, smiling before his pupils. "I believe you three are ready. You may be rookies, but you're all surpassing our expectations in your recent C-ranks. With your consent, I'll relay the confirmation to the Suna Council and we can begin the journey to Kumogakure for next week."

"Kumogakure?" Shinto groaned, dismayed. "That far? Why can't Suna just host them?"

"Kumo is willing to host the exams this round, being that Konoha is adjusting to their new Hokage taking office." Their sensei replied. "Although, only Kumo, Kiri, and we of Suna are participating. It will be a smaller exam compared to other years. But don't let that fool you – the exam will probably be the most difficult assignment you've had to date! In the Chunin Exams, it can be a matter of life and certain death."

Taking aback by the mention of death, Shinto flinched in his seat for a moment – startled at the seriousness of it all. "Seriously? The exams must be brutal, huh?"

"Brutal, yes. Your survival skills and tactical skills will be assessed at length, and if you're up to the standards set by your respective village – you earn the title 'Chunin'."

"How long do we have to make a decision?" Meiyumi asked, curiously – excited and nervous about the offer. "If we're going to take the exam, I mean."

"You have until morning," Hashira turned to her, a friendly smile on his young face. "Thanks to the failed invasion of Konoha, Suna is low on shinobi so participating in the exams is an urgent matter."

Turning to face all three of his students, he gave them a stern, dutiful glance from his green eyes. "I want the three of you to come to your own decisions on this. The exams will be tough and it's potentially a great sacrifice to make as a shinobi." His expression softening, he gave a light smile as he directed his attention to each of his young genin. "Meiyumi, your medical skills are a major contribution to the team's success rate and your taijutsu is excellent. Shinto, your ninjutsu is well executed and earth-release is your best bet."

When Nomasaki saw his glance turning towards her, she grew nervous of what he might say. Compared to her teammates, she was not a healer – she lacked the chakra control and patience for medical ninjutsu – and she certainly was not a genjutsu user like Shinto. Equipped with only her Kekkei Genkai and wind-release jutsu, her abilities were limited to hand-to-hand combat – although she was still able to be the subject of a kidnapping only months ago by fiends of an enemy territory. Expecting the impending criticism, she braced herself for impact – her lilac eyes gleaming with nervousness.

"Nomasaki," Hashira smiled. "You've grown the most. You started off timid and frightened – here, you stand with superb sensory skills and swift close-combat. Your wind-release is fine-tuned, possibly the best of the rookie genin." Surprised by his words, her eyes widened. "Let me know your responses tomorrow at the village gates. I'll see you all then."

"Yes, sensei!"

* * *

Within a darkened room inside of the Kazekage's residence, the infamous Sand Siblings were greeted by their stern-faced sensei – Baki. Standing before them in the chamber with arms crossed against his chest, he eyed the three siblings with a stern yet smug expression on his veiled face.

"Chunin Exams again?"

"I expect the three of you to represent Suna with strength and skill," Baki replied, turning to Kankuro who sat on the worn couch before him – his purple markings absent in his current state of downtime. "Being that you are the top genin the village has to offer, there is no reason for you three to be absent." Glancing at the three Kazekage children, he gave a stern look from his narrowed eyes. "The last Chunin Exam was a failure on our account… The invasion failed and we became a laughingstock amongst the Five Great Nations. This is our opportunity to change that. You will take part in these exams and become Chunin, and repair Suna's ravaged reputation in the eyes of the foreigners."

Her green eyes narrowing at the proposition, Temari grew suspicious of the upcoming exams – still on edge from the last encounter with the event. Although Suna's relationship with Konoha was repaired in recent months, their relations with the other villages were still highly strained.

"I'm surprised there's no hidden motive by the higher-ups," She began. "Is there a catch?"

"No," Baki answered. "These exams are being held in Kumogakure, with Kumo, Kiri, and us from Suna taking part. However, in order to participate, we had to let on that the Fourth Kazekage is still alive – when in reality the Suna Council will be delegating the final results and decide on the Chunin promotions after the testing."

Directing his attention to the silent sibling who stood against the corner of the hallway, he locked eyes with Gaara – the source of their strength and failure during the last exams in Konoha. Knowing that he was able to successfully suppress his tailed-beast's urges for release on the mission to rescue the outsider, he was beginning to have more trust in the young jinchuriki – the young man destined to be the next Kazekage of the village by his bloodline.

"Gaara," He began, catching the attention of his ringed seafoam eyes. "You will be the strongest genin taking this exam, and the only jinchuriki participating. I expect nothing but success from you."

His expression calm and collected, Gaara nodded – understanding the weight of his decision. "Yes."

Despite his calm exterior, he knew the upcoming exams would be crucial in him gaining the necessary honor and respect from the Suna Council and his comrades. Unlike the last exams where he was used as a weapon of terror, he was going to use his newly-tuned abilities from Shukaku to make the most of things and show everyone he was ready to take the next step towards achieving his one goal – to one day become the Kazekage of the village. Although in his birthright, he was still determined to show his peers that he did indeed change from the cold, sociopathic jinchuriki to the calm and knowledgeable candidate for the Fifth Kazekage. The upcoming exams were a fresh start.

"The exams are in a week," Baki continued, turning to the three of them. "Because of my new duties on the council, I'm unable to make the journey. I trust you three are able to find Kumo alone."

"Baki-sama," Temari scoffed to herself. "Surely you can have more faith in us. Like you said before, these exams are different. We're not trying to stage a coup this time, so it should be simple."

"Always the sharp tongue, Temari…" Kankuro sighed with a slight smirk. "It hasn't even been a year…"

"That aside," Baki finished. "I'll be seeing you after the exams when you're all Chunin."

Within the shadows of the chamber, their sensei disappeared without a trace – leaving them to think about the upcoming exams in the far east.

* * *

Beckoned by the normal troops for his final assignment before the exams, Gaara started down the silent alleyway as he made his way towards the village cliffs. While the silent hum of the village voices danced on the hot desert air, the thoughts of the upcoming exams entered his mind. He had to do anything he could to succeed, but above all else - he knew he had to do it without Shukaku. The memories of the last Chunin Exams haunted him now, the shadow of his past self burgeoning in the back of his mind while he strived to change who he was for the better. Aside from his strength, he did manage to form a new relationship with his siblings and exert a promising presence in the politics of Suna for his young age. Desperately, he wanted redemption for what he once was in his past - a ruthless, loveless monster. Aiding Konoha against the Otogakure ninja following the defection of Uchiha Sasuke was his first major course of redemption - the second was sparing the life of the strange-eyed foreigner who he found unconscious on the desert sands. The wolf. Was he truly a good person - had he changed? While his glance narrowed towards the path at his feet, he found himself asking those questions over and over in his mind.

"Go back to where you came from... you filthy-blooded freak!"

"Yeah! Suna doesn't allow just _anyone_ to live here. Especially monsters like you!"

"I live here. Please leave me alone."

Catching his attention, Gaara turned towards the three figures he saw quarrelling in the distance. Corned by two taunting genin, Nomasaki stood with a furrow in her brow and her fists clenched lightly at her sides. Since she became a kunoichi, there have been instances where she received the unwanted glares from passerbys in the village - from elders and youth alike. Her strangely colored eyes conveyed her outsider heritage, making her a walking target for discrimination against her birth circumstance. Her balled fists contained her growing rage, suppressing her rising wolfish anger that boiled inside. The more she met their glares, the more she wanted to lash out at them - rightfully so.

"Why would our village let someone like you even become a shinobi?" One of the genin scoffed, crossing his arms against his chest. "You must be a spy."

"A foreigner with eyes like those," The other mocked, gesturing to her glaring expression. "Look at how weird your eyes are! You sure you're not sick?"

"She's not sick, she's inbred. Wolves mate with their siblings, or so I've heard."

"I'm not an inbred." She spat through her gnashed teeth, her canines growing pronounced. "Take it back."

Mockingly, the brown-haired boy pointed towards her, looking her up and down as a smug smirk appeared on his lips. "Everyone knows that about the clan-system. That's why it's not practiced in Suna - because we hate abominations. Your clan is no exception. Anyone from a clan is guaranteed to be a product of incest, that's how they protect their kekkei genkai." He leaned in closer to her, exerting a more threatening presence by his height over her stature. "You're just a sick purple-eyed freak."

"She probably can't see with weird eyes like those," The other genin joined in. "Are you blind, freak? Can you even see?"

"The only thing my eyes can see in front of me are two ignorant jerks."

Angered, the brown-haired genin before her flinched from her barked words. Cocking his fist, he gnashed his teeth in rage, preparing to strike. "Why you...!"

Startling them, his fist struck a swift wall of sand - erected between them in the alleyway as if in a moment. Its grains were as solid as steel, the boy's knuckles striking it in full force with a faint rumble. Pain jolting through his palm, he pulled away, the bloodied print of his fist ingrained onto the shield of sand. Grasping his arm, he briefly examined the reddened color of his hand as the tiny droplets of crimson fell to the ground below. Frustrated, he grit his teeth as he turned to see who stood behind them - interrupting his strike of anger. Gaara. Stern-eyed, the young jinchuriki stood silently in the alleyway, his sand returning towards him and ready at his side. Surprised, Nomasaki turned towards him, sensing his familiar chakra enter her senses.

Panicked, the other genin turned to his friend. "Let's get out of here," He whispered. "This guy is bad news... He's the jinchuriki...!"

"Damn it...! Alright,"

Before fleeing from the scene, the brown-haired genin gave her a final glare as he and his friend retreated to the village's center. Watching them flee, she felt a wave of relief come over her, her growing feral anger receding as she saw their backs fade into the crowds in the hazy distance. Catching her attention, she heard his footsteps crunch in the sand as he paused before her. Meeting his gaze, she turned to face him - the first time since he rescued her from her near fatal capture months earlier.

"Did they hurt you?" He asked, his calm voice containing a hint of concern.

"No," She shook her head. "I'm alright, but... thanks."

While the sand beside him retreated back into his gourd, he examined the pain he could plainly see upon her calm exterior. She was good at hiding it, he thought to himself. Just as he was victimized by some of the villagers, she also faced the same fate. Remembering the words she spoke to him on the night they first met, he understood everything that was painted on her expression - they were the same. Timidly, she averted her saddening glance from his that late afternoon, trying to mask it with a light smile of embarrassment.

"I've had worse. Although, it has been getting better since I moved here."

"I'm sorry to hear that," He replied. "You don't deserve it."

"Oh," She jolted, looking up to him as her timidness coated her soft tone. "T-Thank you. That's... kind of you."

Kind, he thought - the word surprising him as it left her lips. Not once had he been referred to as such. Stepping in to protect her from the harassment of the two genin, he did it only to help without asking of anything in return - is that was being 'kind' was? Turning away from him, she made her way towards the stairs alongside the clay wall of the building beside them. Pausing upon its first few steps, she gave him a friendly-natured smile.

"I have to go. Thanks again... for what you did back there."

As he watched her brief smile fade as she disappeared upon the clay stairwell, his ringed-eyes looked on in a new sense of empathy. Just as he thought that night when they first met, she was definitely different than the others - and for that, she was also punished. Whether she be a wolf or not, she endured the lashings of others for simply who she was - just as he was for being a jinchuriki. While he resumed his path towards the village exit, he thought of her as he embarked on his final mission as a genin - hoping she would be left alone by those cruel genin from earlier.

* * *

As the blinding desert sun began to set in the far distance, Nomasaki stood upon the rooftop of her apartment complex with her summon before her – eager to tell him about the day's exciting news, her expression masking the pain she endured only hours ago. As she explained the upcoming exams to the great wolf who sat upon the clay floor, Hanone listened with eyes tinted with regret and sorrow – while his jaws remained silent and submissive. As he watched her eager expression and beaming lilac eyes, he thought about what could have been – she was never meant to become a shinobi. If only they stayed in the great northern mountains, would she ever be able to have a normal life. However, her destiny was forever changed by the invaders who destroyed their village in fire.

Finally, he brought himself to speak. "You're going through with it, then?"

"I'm… not completely sure yet," She answered, looking down at her feet. Gathering her courage, she gave the wolf a timid and light smile – thinking of her teammates and new friends she had in Suna. "But I want to support my team as a kunoichi of Suna!" Hearing her answer made his guilt-ridden gaze obvious to her – catching her immediate curiosity. As she looked into Hanone's beastly yellow pupils, she could feel the sorrow and frustration contained within his gaze – surprising her and worrying her at the same time. "What is it?"

"You've changed since you left Yama," He spoke through his jaws. "You're becoming more like _him_."

"Like who?"

"That bastard father of yours," He growled, his beastly eyes narrowing towards her. "The man who abandoned you and your mother years ago…!"

Shocked, her eyes widened. "Hanone, what do you mean? He's dead-,"

"No, he's not."

"He's… He's alive?" She asked, stunned. "Mother would never tell me about him, only that he was from an outside village." Stepping closer towards the wolf, her expression could hardly contain her newfound excitement – her father was alive after all these years. "How do you know? Can you help me find him?"

Averting his gaze, the beast turned its head towards the setting sun – remembering the rage and contempt he felt from that man and his actions. "I wouldn't search for him if I were you… because you'd only be disappointed in the end."

"It's my father!" She argued, excitedly. "I have to meet him, and-,"

"He abandoned you!" He snarled, snapping his jaws towards her – jolting her in her stance. Her eyes wide from his words, she felt her heart sink into her chest – abandoned. Shocked and in stunned silence, she flinched from the words her wolf spoke – the man who was her father abandoned her. "Your father left upon finding out he sired a wolf and married a monster. He discovered your clan's Kekkei Genkai and was disgusted… he left the mountains after you were born and was never heard from again."

"He… Why did he think that…?" She stammered, her eyes glistening. "Did he really think… we were monsters?"

"He left Yama with his tail between his legs…" Hanone growled under his breath. "All the way back… to Sunagakure."

As she felt the harsh chill from his words, a brisk desert wind blew past her – swaying her gold hair against her wide and wet violet eyes. Unable to process the reality she was given, she stood in quiet shock as she slowly came to terms with the irony of her parentage - she was of the sand. After her mother refused to share any details of her father's identity, she discovered that her father was a Sand ninja – something that she recently became herself. Although amazed and relieved that her father was alive, it greatly pained her that he may never want anything to do with her – believing that his lover and child were descended from monsters of the far north – beasts.

What hurt her even more was the realization of her heritage, her wolf blood mixed with that of a desert-dweller – a man of Suna, the village where she took refuge after her mountain village was destroyed. As she thought of the harsh glares from her superiors and villagers who seen her as an outsider, she wondered if prejudice was also in her blood. Were all from Suna the same, in that respect? Was she just another monster to them, after she became one of their own? Did her teammates secretly despise her despite their amicable teamwork and friendships? Bitterly, she averted her saddened glare, biting her lip to keep her emotions contained.

"S-Suna?" She stammered, quietly. "After all this time?"

"If you want to seek him out, by all means search for him," Hanone snarled bitterly, averting his gaze from her shocked and saddened eyes. Standing up, the wolf slowly approached her – glaring into her pained lilacs. "But I won't be helping you. I can't forgive him for what he's done to you… or your mother. She died with a broken heart, all because of his prejudice." Turning away from her, he started for the edge of the rooftop – the cool desert air ruffling his coat of snow-white fur. "You've become a shinobi of Suna… following in his footsteps. I wonder… Will you continue down the path you have chosen?" Stepping onto the worn orange shingles of the rooftop, the wolf glared back at her as he paused. "…And stay away from _that_ one… He's a threat. Just because he helped me rescue you, doesn't mean he's an ally. Like the other desert-folk, he's not to be trusted… Stay away from him."

Startled by his words, she knew who he was talking about – Gaara. The boy who brought her to the village and shared her loneliness, and the first one who was not disturbed by her true nature. Just hours earlier, he stepped in to save her from the verbal onslaught from the two disgruntled genin. He was not like the others, she thought - he was different and he was kind. Appalled by her wolf's warning, she stood in silence – conflicted between her desire for his friendship and her blood-commitment to her guardian. She was not given an ideal choice, and she struggled to come to an answer as her words failed to reach out in time. As she could feel herself push towards the winds, she grasped out to him.

"Hanone, I…-!"

Before she could speak, Hanone leapt into the village streets below - disappearing from her view, although his chakra was loud and clear as it bounded towards the sands in his quest for the hunt. Broken emotionally from his confession, she stood upon the rooftop with a heavy decision weighted upon her shoulders as the winds blew past – her eyes blank while she gazed down upon the village of sand below. How could her father abandon his family? Was she truly becoming like _him_ , after all – for abandoning Yama? Would she ever seek him out to get closure for his abandonment? Was she destined for hatred? They were questions that were racing through her mind all at once without end.

* * *

That next morning, her team was patiently awaiting her arrival by the cliffs that guarded the entrance to the fertile crescent of the village of the sands. Standing idly by as the morning haze engulfed the village streets, Shinto could make out a silhouette approaching them – focusing his eyes on the shape.

"Uh?" He muttered, his eyes feeling strained from the early morning sun. "Hey! Nomasaki! You made it!"

Surprising him, he seen his absent teammate make her way towards them by the cliffside – her expression stone-faced and calm, as opposed to her usual meek and cheery nature. Could something possibly have changed within her?

"Are you… okay?"

"Yeah," She nodded, giving a small smile – although her eyes appeared defeated. "I'm fine."

"Have you decided?"

Noticing their glances of concern and excitement on her, she examined their faces before her as she gathered herself to give an answer. After seeing the beaming face of Shinto and concerned pleading glance of Meiyumi, she knew what her answer would be. With a small smile on her pale face, she turned to them.

"Yes," She nodded. "I'll be taking the Chunin Exams as a member of Team Hashira."

Cheerfully, Meiyumi clasped her hands together while Shinto brought in his teammates for a group rally – swinging his arms over his friends in a gesture of friendliness and excitement. Humbled by their friendship, Hashira nodded at their cheers.

"Congratulations," He said. "You three will be representing Sunagakure on these upcoming exams as rookies. I look forward to seeing you three succeed in Kumogakure."

"Right!"

And so their upcoming trials as shinobi of Suna began to fall into place...


	10. The Chosen Path

**Chapter 10**  
 **The Chosen Path**

* * *

While they paced through the never-ending grasslands and savannahs of the Land of Lightning...

The team of Suna genin made it to a wide valley that was lined with crooked and towering mountains – their peaks invisible by the cover of clouds that broke through the skies. As they continued their pace through the narrowing valley path, they finally made it to a clearing. Pausing in their steps as the winds blew past, they took in the marvelous sight before them – a new land and much different than their own. Before them between the nest of endless mountains was Kumogakure – a massive village nestled snuggly amongst the forming clouds and encroaching mountain ranges.

"This place!" Shinto awed, amazed by the sight. "Look at those mountains!"

"Kumogakure, huh?" Meiyumi smiled, grasping to the straps of her backpack. "It's so huge! It's bigger than Suna!"

As Nomasaki stood beside her teammates as they marveled at the sight of the village, her eyes were fixated on the mountains that surrounded the valley – reminding her of the home she left behind in fire and blood. A year has passed since fleeing Yama, but not a day has gone by where she has not thought of the snow, the ice, and the cold mountain air – she yearned for it in her heart every day as she could feel the brutal heat of Suna scorch the pale skin of her hands. Seeing the cloud-covered peaks in Kumo struck a chord within her, unable to take her gaze away in silent surprise.

"The mountains," She murmured to herself – her teammates unaware of her moment of silence.

* * *

First, the genin teams were tasked with the first stage of the exams – the infamous written test where most of the participating teams failed.

Seated away from her teammates, Nomasaki struggled to answer all of the questions on her own. Although not born with innate talent as a shinobi or the destiny to become one, her hard work showed for it and her studying habits certainly paid off – she and her team successfully passed. Much to Shinto's relief, both of his teammates were knowledgeable enough to earn a high grade – ensuring he would be able to pass as well. Despite this, the only question that had any worth was their final question, which asked to remove their weakest teammate. By refusing to answer the final question, Team Hashira passed – acknowledging the importance of teamwork.

Whereas the teams who answered otherwise – failed.

* * *

That next morning at the crack of dawn…

With wide and nervous eyes, Nomasaki gulped as she stood before the next stage of the exams with her teammates – attempting to conceal her fright for what was to come. Before them was a towering peak covered with dense vegetation and hidden cliffs, surrounded by a high chain-linked fence – a mountain whose peak was invisible from where they stood. Throughout the confines of the mountain, she could sense the terrifying beasts that walked its grounds and the scent of death in the air that lingered around it. Its presence was nothing short of intimidating to the genin that stood at its base.

Standing like a statue before the genin was the proctor – a tall and lean man from Kumo clothed in a grey garb and red sash tied around his waist. With his scarred eyes, he gave the genin a stern gaze as he began to explain the contents of the next round of the Chunin Exams. "This is the entrance to the second stage of the exams," He began, his voice husky and deep. "The mountain behind me is Senjō Peak, one of the tallest mountains in the Land of Lightning. Your task here to collect both a Heaven Scroll and an Earth Scroll and survive the trials of the mountain as you and your team climb to the summit. At the peak of the mountain, we have the Tameshi Temple where the final stage of the exams will take place. The forest on the mountain is full of bloodthirsty beasts, poisonous plants, and freezing water… which earns it the nickname 'Blood Mountain'. You will have twenty-four hours to complete this stage, and rules are anything-goes. Now…" Slashing his arm before the genin, he signalled the stage start with a furrowed glare – mired with intensity. "Begin!"

Within an instant, the genin teams burst through their respective gates – on their paths to complete the goals of the second stage of the exams.

* * *

Bounding through the dense forest, Team Hashira leapt through the tree branches – gaining ground towards the ascent of the peak.

As the sounds of the other genin disappeared into the thick cover of the forest, the three Suna shinobi paused on the moss-covered branch of a lumbering spruce tree – its pines blocking out the rays of the mountain sun above them.

"We'll rest here!" Shinto said, crouching on the bark of the tree branch. "Meiyumi, you take the scroll. If we get found out, it's safest with you."

Taking the Heaven Scroll from his hands, she nodded. "Right."

"How many, Nomasaki?" Shinto asked, turning to her. "Can you detect anyone close by?"

Forming a hand-sign with her palms, she prepared herself. "I'll try," She nodded, glancing towards him. Entering her realm of focus, she closed her eyes – taking in the mountain air as she tapped into her sensory abilities. All around her she could sense the vibrant life of the forest – every animal, every plant, every energy. Suddenly, she could begin to feel the presence of others – their chakra appearing to her senses in small bursts from a far distance. "There's a group of shinobi due northwest! Three of them. They are resting."

"Let's ambush them!" Shinto smirked, turning to his teammates. "We only need an Earth Scroll, right?"

"Shinto…!" Meiyumi hushed, gesturing towards him. "What are you thinking…?! What if they don't have the scroll we need…?! We'd be picking a fight for nothing…!"

"Then we'll be testing out our capabilities…!" Shinto chuckled, whispering. "This is the second stage…! We should be making the most of it…!"

"Are you insane…?! What if they're far stronger than us…?! We could be killed…!"

Realizing the brash stupidity of his initial plan, he hung his head low. "You're right," He sighed. Suddenly, an idea entered his mind – striking his thoughts with newfound optimism. "I know…! Hey, Nomasaki!" Whipping his head towards her, he gave a scheming grin. "How about you ambush them in your wolf form and steal their scroll…! We're in the forest so you'll blend right in with the animals…!"

Surprising her, Nomasaki turned to him wide-eyed – caught off guard by his suggestion of her Kekkei Genkai. "I don't know about that," She answered. "It could work, but…-,"

"Come on, Nomasaki…!" Shinto assured. "Don't be so scared…! Remember, you're part of this team, too…! We made it this far, it's too late to turn back now…!"

Surprised by his mention of the team, she nervousness slipped away – humbled by her teammate's words. Despite Hanone's words from the days passed, could she have been wrong about them? Their anticipating grins began to assure her that they were indeed honest. Focusing back towards the task at hand, the more she thought of his crazy idea, the more she was convinced that it would work – and the wolf in her wanted to give it a shot. "Okay," She agreed. "I'll go on ahead. Wait for me?"

"We'll be right here."

After exchanging a nod with her teammates, she turned towards her path ahead – eyeing the forest thicket with her narrowed lilac eyes. As she could begin to feel her blood boil and rumble through herself, she shook her skin with a snarl and bounded through the towering trees of the forest - her white coat glimmering in the shards of sunlight as she entered the darkness of the dense cover of trees.

* * *

Under the shade of the cliffside, a team of three Kiri ninja were resting beside a small waterfall.

Drinking the water from their packs and organizing their stash of food, two of the teammates waited patiently while one sat under a spruce tree and sharpened his blade with a piece of flint – carefully watching over the Earth Scroll by his feet. Hoping for the Heaven Scroll to come to them, they patiently waited for an unfortunate would-be team to cross their path while they scaled the mountain.

"Man," One of them groaned. "This exam has me burnt out… Are we seriously supposed to reach the temple by sunrise? Did you see how tall this mountain is?!"

"I know," The one under the tree replied, sighing. "But it's called Blood Mountain for a reason. This place is crawling with beasts… let alone the other shinobi taking the test. There's that sand-guy from Suna who was in the Konoha exams… we'd have to flee on sight if he crosses paths with us."

Jolting, the Kiri ninja shuddered from the thought – remembering the scarce and fearful mentions of Gaara of the Sand Waterfall that reached Kiri – and Shukaku's strength. "W-What?! No way!"

The Kiri ninja rationing the food scoffed to himself. "If we're truly Kiri ninja, we'd stick it out until the last one's standing! They don't call us the 'Village of the Bloody Mist' for nothing!"

"Hey now," The other chided. "Those days are far behind us! Do you remember slaughtering your comrades for the genin exams?" Silence and a shudder. "Didn't think so. Our new Mizukage-sama saw to that!" Sighing, he focused his energy back on his katana – sharpening it in small strokes onto the flint in his palm. "Besides… We should really think about how we're going to get our hands on a Heaven Scroll-,"

Suddenly, the air around them fell silent – then, a rumble. As if from nowhere, a faint snarl echoed across the winds – alerting the Kiri ninja from his blade.

"What the… did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I think someone is watching us,"

While the winds picked up, the Kiri genin could hear the sounds of something moving through the thicket – coursing through the forest as the snarling turned into a sharp growl. The sound was not human in the slightest – its beast-like tremors echoing in the air around them. Alarming the Kiri team, they drew out their blades and kunai and took formation – prepared for what was coming for them.

"Someone or something… on your guard!"

As the young Kiri ninja braced for the oncoming threat, a loud growl ripped through the air and suddenly – silence. To their horror, a white wolf lunged towards them from the cover of the shadowy forest – its fangs barred as is dashed out of the thicket.

"A-A wolf!"

Swiftly, the wolf leapt over the cowering Kiri ninja – grasping the Earth Scroll that was left unattended behind them in its jaws. As the blades drew near, the wolf burst through the team – knocking them away in forceful aggression as it returned to the forest and disappeared in the darkness.

"It…! It took our scroll!"

"What the hell was that thing?!"

"…A monster."

* * *

Once she could no longer sense the chakra of the Kiri ninja behind her, she took refuge near a riverside.

After her claws dug into the dirt as she came to a halt, she dropped the scroll to the ground from her fanged jaws. Returning to her human form and brushing off the dust from her white tunic, she picked up the stolen item before her. Sitting, she gazed at the purple scroll held in her hands. Touching its outer wrappings, she examined its appearance.

"That wasn't too hard," She spoke to herself, quietly. Proud of herself, a light smile formed on her lips. "They did hear me coming, but it was fun to see them scared…!"

Directing her attention towards the sun, she took notice of its dimming orange rays – the evening was fast approaching – and they had less than twelve hours to scale the remaining cliffs of the mountain. Taking in the cold mountain air, she stood upon her feet – gazing at the growing sunset. "It's near dusk, I should rejoin my team-,"

Suddenly, a dense and powerful chakra presence erupted through her senses – startling her from its feel. Whipping her head at its supposed direction, her eyes scanned for the adversary – on guard to protect her team's scroll. To her surprise and shock, the chakra grew familiar to her – provoking herself to freeze in her stance from its feel.

- _That chakra…! Could it…-?_ -

In great speed, a massive stream of sand flew towards her – her nimble agility saving her from its grasp but just barely. Sensing an oncoming attack, she shook off her human skin and became a wolf once more – evading the sand's attacks in swift movements as she headed towards the barren plateau. Suddenly, her inner beast seen an opening. Forcefully, the wolf lunged forwards with its fangs barred in its jaws – the sands spewing into a thick cloud from the beast's strong impact. As the dust cleared, a human Nomasaki sat upon her foe with a kunai pointed at their throat – her eyes conveying her intent to defend herself in her bid for survival. Never before had she felt the urge to survive so strongly before, regardless if the chakra signified anything familiar to her or not - she was determined to make it out alive. Her scattered panting and wide eyes of intent proved it.

Upon seeing their face, her eyes widened greatly in shocked surprise. Her senses were right. Underneath her hold was Gaara – his expression blank and stunned. His reaction was unexpected. She had heard the rumors of his strength since she arrived in Suna, and she seen it for herself firsthand. Not once had she thought she would be able to disarm him like she did. As she looked at him, she noticed his face was partially cracked from her counter – his Sand Armor breaking apart on his features from the impact. As he lay on the ground below her with his teeth gnashed under her hold, she noticed he was surrounded by a blanket of sand – did she break his gourd by accident, too? Surprised and in timid nervousness, she withdrew her kunai as their eyes met, her fingers trembled at its hilt as she did so.

"Ga… Gaara?"

Suddenly, she could begin to feel a change in him as she sat on his torso. Alarmed, she backed off, her feet near stumbling in the process. Before her very eyes, he turned into a mound of sand – a substitution jutsu, perhaps?

"I see you've made it to the second stage,"

Startling her, she turned towards his voice. Standing above her upon the river cliffside, he stood amongst the shadows of the trees – a cloud of sand revealing his location to her. Not even she was able to detect him – he moved flawlessly – signifying his great distance in strength. Looking down at her, his ringed-eyes appeared calm and stoic – yet unpredictable at the same time.

"I've noticed you did, too, judging by the sand at least." She said, glancing up at him with stern lilac eyes – attempting to hide her rising nervousness.

Her palm shaking at her side as she reached for her kunai in her side-pouch, she prepared herself for the worst while she could feel the scroll safely stowed away – the scent of bloody combat on the winds. With the exam entering its final twelve-hour window, foes began sprinting towards the temple in haste to collect a scroll from unsuspecting teams – she was not going to risk it.

"Are you… going to fight me?"

"We're both shinobi of Suna," He answered, looking towards the setting sun in the far distance – sensing her trembling from afar. "This may be a survival test, but there's no point in us taking up arms against each other. I won't fight you for the sake of our common allegiance."

Relaxing her grip on the kunai in her pack, she calmed her stance – her eyes cleansed of emotion as she looked up to meet his gaze. It was then she could feel Shukaku lingering on his skin, its dense chakra in the winds around her. Although she knew Gaara was no threat, she still felt a wave of terror from its burgeoning chakra.

"You're taking the exams to prove yourself as a ninja with your team… I'm taking the Chunin Exams because I want to achieve my goal, so I need to make one thing clear-,"

The change of his tone caught her curiosity – was he warning her?

"Goal?" She repeated.

Closing his eyes as he stood with his arms folded, he acknowledged her presence before him as a fellow genin of Suna – deserving of the warning he held. "If we cross paths again during this test, I can't promise I'll hold back. I'm letting you go on a whim, being that we're comrades from Suna." His eyes open towards her, calmly and stoic. "I have no intention of fighting you. You're someone I would consider as close."

Surprised by his words, she stood wide-eyed below him by the raging riverside on the treacherous mountain – the winds becoming colder and brisk with humidity as a thunderstorm was imminent. As she could feel the calm air from his presence, she trusted in her judgement. Disregarding what Hanone said to her, she looked upon him with her friendly meek nature – hoping that her held friendship for him would be reciprocated.

With a nod, she held in her nervousness and gave a small smile on her lips. "I'll see you at the temple," She spoke. "I'm much stronger than the last time we met, so you don't have to come to my rescue anymore. Someday, I'll repay the favor."

Becoming curious and intrigued from her words, his turquoise eyes slightly widened from her response – stronger? Could it be that the timid outsider was skilled enough to finish the exams in one piece? Only time would tell – and he was interested in seeing her journey.

"Gaara!"

Catching his attention, he turned towards the direction of his sister's voice as the sky darkened and grew loud with the rumbling thunder.

"Where are you? We should be heading to the temple by now! We have both scrolls!"

Before he departed, he turned around to face Nomasaki again. Surprised, she was gone – not a trace of her left lingering on the winds. Without a single sound, the wolf disappeared into the forest as the rains began that dark and cold night. Stirring silently, Shukaku reared its voice into his psyche as faint as could be.

- _You should've crushed her when you've had the chance..._ \- It groaned, darkly. - _She near had you that time...!_ -

Brushing off the beast's ignorance, he ignored any further noise it rumbled through him. Although the new seal was much more effective, sometimes its voice still slipped past its barrier. Yet Shukaku was utterly powerless, allowing Gaara to siphon chakra from it as he saw fit. This advantage did nothing but disgruntle the one-tail, but nonetheless it would still willingly lend its power when beckoned.

- _Hey! Are you even listening to me...?!_ -

 _I am_ , Gaara thought back - _you and I should be working together._

Silence.

 _Typical Shukaku_ , he thought. Heeding to the calls of his siblings, he stepped further into the thicket to rejoin them.

The end of the exam was fast approaching…


	11. To Be a Kunoichi

_**Notes:**_ Song recommendation / / "Fight" by Tanya Tagaq

* * *

 **Chapter 11  
** **To Be A Kunoichi**

* * *

 _It was snowing that day as she recalled._

 _Humming sweetly, she stepped out of their home to find her mother tending to the clothes hung out from the wash. The sleeves of her red cotton kimono were bunched to her elbows and a white apron lay over her dress dotted with small splashes of water and damp. A white cloth kept her long hair from falling over her face, with the strands of stray gold tied into a thick bun. Tending to the spreads of their kimonos and bedsheets, her mother doted kindly to the fabrics as she nimbly reached and placed each one on the line. Noticing the crunch of the snow behind, Mikomi turned to see her ten year-old daughter approaching._

 _"Mom, do I have a dad?" Nomasaki asked, her eyes sad and puffy and cheeks flushed from the cold._

 _Taken aback, her mother's hand flinched on the clothesline. "Of course you do, Nomasaki." She said, kneeling down to meet her child's face. "Why do you ask?"_

 _"Where... is he?" Nomasaki asked, averting her eyes at first. "Other kids in our village have a mom and dad, and I just have a mom. Did he... leave? Or is he... -?"_

 _Smiling warmly, Mikomi shook her head. "Not at all," She assured. "He's from another land, different than our own. He had to leave, but he'll be back again someday. I know it." Gently, she poked the white fabric of Nomasaki's kimono over where her heart lay. "He is right - here. Always."_

 _As her mother took her palm away from her, her heart felt eased and full of love. Wrapping her arms around her waist, she held her close. "Thank you, mom."_

 _With a loving motherly smile, Mikomi patted her child's head. Although her eyes were full of love and care, sorrow dwelt deep within the purple hue that marked them. It was only weeks after that she would die of the same fever that claimed the lives of her parents._

 _A flash of red fire burned before Nomasaki's eyes._

 _Standing before a great pyre, she stood clad in white and with tears streaming down her cheeks. At peace, her mother's body lay atop the wooden pyre of pine and furs, her hands clasped over her chest in eternal sleep. A scant few villagers remained to mourn alongside the orphaned child, watching the rising flames claim the wolf-woman of the mountains._

 _Nomasaki was the last one._

 _Fire swam before her eyes again, sweeping and licking the skies above. As cries entered her ears, she saw the great orange and red flames flicker before the man's plated black armor as he marched closer to where she was in the snow._

 _The fire shouted towards her..._

* * *

Stirring in her sleep upon the blanket of leaves and twigs, Nomasaki flickered her eyes open in the darkness.

It was still the night - to her relief.

Breathing easy to herself, she calmed her breaths and washed away the pain from her cursed memories. It had been barely a year since she fled her homeland, yet the images of fire and death still persisted no matter how hard she tried to push them away.

 _Why do I keep remembering?_

She was doomed to remember, she decided.

* * *

Dawn approached…

"We're almost there!" Shinto shouted, as he and his team leapt amongst the treetops that early morning. Turning towards his sensory guide, he gave her a narrowed glance. "Nomasaki, any other ninja around?"

After a moment of focus into her senses, she glanced back at him through the breaking sunlight on the frosted cover of forest. "Lots," She nodded, feeling their presences converging towards the temple. "Maybe twenty?"

"We should avoid them just to be safe-!?"

Suddenly, a blast went off from underneath them – erupting the forest floor into a fiery plume of smoke. Recollecting herself as she awoke, Nomasaki slowly pulled herself up from the ground – a paper bomb. Suddenly, a shrill shriek filled the forest air – alarming her greatly from the sound. Meiyumi. Standing on her feet, she ran towards the feel of her chakra – her tracks coming to a screeching halt when she seen the sight of her teammate with a kunai to her throat.

"Don't move or the girl dies!" The Kiri ninja shouted, his grip on his weapon tightening against her neck. Wincing, Meiyumi tried her best to not move as the cold blade touched her skin in a light and grazing nature. Chilling her, a warm, liquid-like feeling slowly flowed down to her collarbone.

Struggling to stand, Shinto pulled himself towards them in the dirt. "Let her go, you bastard!"

"Give us your scroll!" The enemy barked, his eyes wide and drained from a lack of sleep. "If you want her free, that is…!"

Shocked, Nomasaki stood by Shinto before her captured teammate and medic – her mind racing to find a solution, but none were coming to mind.

"G… Go on ahead without me…!" Meiyumi cried out, biting her lip to stop the pain. "Get… to the temple…!"

Sitting before the paranoid foe before them with their teammate in tow, Shinto wiped his sleeve against his bloodied mouth as he glared ahead into the Kiri ninja's eyes. "Nomasaki, what do we do…?!"

"I don't know…!" She whispered back. "We should try to think of something…" Suddenly, a memory jolted her senses - she hatched a plan. "Wait…! I have an idea…!"

Sensing a change in their attitude and watching them converse with another in hushed tones, the Kiri ninja smirked at the two scathed Suna shinobi. "What's this? You've come to your senses?"

Stepping forward, Nomasaki started towards him and Meiyumi. Once she was an arm's length away, she paused – her lilac eyes boring through him in a glare. "I'm giving you until the count of three to let her go."

"Hmph!" He scoffed, humored. "Are you serious? What can you possibly do to make me…-"

"One."

Jolting slightly from her words, he tightened his grip on his hostage. Closing her eyes, she breathed in an air of calm – prepared to go through with their plan.

"Two…"

Unrelenting, he refused to abide.

"Three!"

Suddenly, she opened her eyes – her face warped to that of a distorted and monstrous canine.

Within an instant, she transformed into a wolf with flowing white fur and a snarling growl emerging from her jaws. Lunging towards the enemy, the panicked Kiri ninja released Meiyumi as he attempted to fend off against the beast. Quickly, during the snarling chaos, Shinto grabbed Meiyumi by her arm and formed a hand-sign – his signature cloak ability – a genjutsu. Shrouding themselves, they took refuge amongst the rough terrain as the enemy was still at large.

Pushing the Kiri ninja towards the thicket, the wolf chased him down, bounding behind him with its jaws poised for another strike. As a last resort, the foe quickly reached into his pack. Turning back towards the beast for an instant, a vast stream of fire violently erupted from the small bombs he threw towards the racing beast. Creating a wall of orange fire amongst the forest boundary, the wolf came to a dead stop in its tracks.

Fire.

Transforming back into a human, Nomasaki stood in silent shock before the flames as memories of her destroyed homeland came racing back to her thoughts. Her mother, her burning village, the man in armor - all came rushing back just as it did in her dreams. Within a matter of seconds, frames of her village in flames and her life-threatening trek down the mountain pounded through her senses – chilling her and rendering her defenceless.

Once the enemy was gone, Shinto and Meiyumi emerged from their camouflage among the forest cover. Kneeling with her, Shinto gave her a concerned glance. "Are you alright, Meiyumi?"

"I… I think so." She replied. Wincing from its sting, she grasped the side of her neck. Looking at her palm, she could see it painted with a thin cover of crimson. "I guess maybe not… my neck is cut." Forming a hand-sign, a green aura shrouded her hand as she placed it over the injury. "Good thing I can partially heal myself. I'll heal you two in a moment." As her cut was healed, her memory briefly jolted – reaching into her pack, she pulled out the two scrolls they had in possession. "And lucky for them, they didn't realize I was holding these!"

Looking towards his silent teammate who stood staring into the fiery distance, he narrowed his eyes. "Is he gone?"

Catching her attention, Nomasaki turned to face him. "He fled," She spoke, quietly. "Most likely gone to regroup. We should head to the temple now before he comes back…"

Sensing her change in demeanor, he watched her aimless and fright-stricken glance upon the leftover flames from the attack. "Nomasaki? What's wrong?"

"It's… nothing," She lied, her voice cracking slightly as she attempted to appear calm. "I'm fine."

Unconvinced, Shinto watched her gaze – knowing that she was obviously rattled by something.

* * *

Later that morning…

Silently, the young genin stood in formation before a stone-faced group of high-ranking shinobi in the massive arena within the confines of the aged temple. From the faint remnants of sunlight, their headbands glimmered – Kumo, Kiri, and Suna. A surprise to them was that out of the teams that began the second stage of testing a day prior, only a third of the teams survived the wilds of Blood Mountain. While some of the genin stood ready to complete the third and final stage of the exam, others appeared shaken by their experience and wanted out. Nearly every genin was covered in some form of dirt, dried blood, or exhibited exhaustion in some way or another. The only one to appear unscathed in the crowd of young shinobi was Gaara – unsurprising to the proctors as they knew of his great prowess and previous reputation. While some glared at him from the corners of their eyes in envy, others watched the proctors step forward before the surviving genin.

"Those of you here before the proctors have made it to the third stage of the Chunin Exams," A shrouded and muscular Kumo ninja spoke, eyes narrowed at the candidates. "Due to the controversy surrounding last year's exams in Konoha, there will be no final tournament matches held in Kumogakure."

"What?!"

"Are you for real?!"

Unfazed by their groans of disappointment, he gestured to the large digital screen behind him – the glances of the young genin following. "Instead, there will be match battles set by the randomizer to my right. Two names will be randomly selected for each match, and the matches go as standard. If anyone declares defeat or dies, the match is over. Once your match is finished, you will proceed to the final exam room in the second door on the left – that is where the proctors and representatives from each village will be tallying the results and deciding who becomes Chunin. Now for our first match…"

In groups of three, each genin team made their way towards the stairs to the balcony to view the upcoming matches. Once situated, each village was appropriately segregated – carefully examining the ongoing match between a lowly Suna ninja and his Kumo opponent. As he watched the stern-faced proctors from a distance behind the Kiri ninja before him, Shinto leaned towards Meiyumi who stood calmly beside him. "Hey," He whispered, his glance narrowing in suspicion. As the first match began and the sounds of punches and force filled the arena air, he looked towards the proctors and read their headbands – sensing their hidden skills and noticing a crucial component to the exams was missing. Within the small group of proctors, not a single village leader was present – no Raikage, no Kazekage, and no Mizukage. "Isn't weird how none of the village leaders are here? Aren't they supposed to be overseeing this thing?"

She nodded. "Maybe since the Konoha incident it's too much of a risk?"

"Fair point,"

"And the winner is-!"

Turning to Nomasaki as Team Hashira sat above on the arena balcony, Shinto could sense something was about his silent teammate. Examining her troubled glance onto the battlefield before her, he could see the fear hidden within her lilac eyes. Knowing full-well her decision to become a kunoichi was beyond her choice and destiny, he wondered if she truly was designed for it – and if her choice to join in on the exams was her decision, not just because of her team's wishes. Curious, he watched her witness the fight – and the Suna ninja lose the battle in a flash of lighting.

"Are you alright, Nomasaki?"

"Hm?" Slightly surprised, her hand jolted on the worn steel railing. Turning to him and Meiyumi beside her, she gave a sheepish nod. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"You look nervous," Shinto smirked, brushing back his internal accusations. "Or are you just itching to fight?"

"I could be." She chuckled, lightly – hiding her fright for the future that lay ahead for her.

Grimacing to herself as she stood above on the balcony, she watched as her comrade from Suna was placed on a cloth stretcher and rushed out of the arena – blood staining his clothes and his body unresponsive. As she could feel her palm begin to shake, she attempted to calm herself. She survived the second stage with her team – she was okay. However, deep in her mind, she troubled herself with despair over the possibilities of her anticipated opponent – would she stand a chance? She was able to use her Kekkei Genkai and wind release, as well as her feather-like agility - but that was all she had. As her eyes trailed the balcony, she saw the few teams who remained standing far apart from another – two from Kumo, one from Kiri, and two from Suna. As she looked to the distance at her left, she could see Gaara standing silently with his siblings – their attention directed towards the arena. Quickly, she glanced away, hoping that no one had seen her eyes following him. Clutching the railing before her, she desperately wished she could avoid fighting him – and so her wish was granted.

"The next match… Gaara vs. Tarō!"

With a glare, Shinto grit his teeth as he watched the ringed-eyed jinchuriki appear in the arena within a wisp of sand. "It's him…! I can't stand him…!" He spat to himself.

"He thinks he's so strong, he wouldn't stand a chance against me!"

"You would die."

"Meiyumi?!"

As the match between Gaara and his opponent from Kiri commenced, the match grew from a silent standoff to that of a pounding match of the elements – sand versus water. In great waves of sand, Gaara was easily able to catch his shrewd foe off-guard and overwhelm him as the burgeoning shadow of the sand towered over his opponent's water release technique. Watching from the balcony, Nomasaki stood grasping the railing in amazement, her eyes widened in surprise and fear for his strength – and from the sense and feel of Shukaku who lurked inside of him. It was no secret that Gaara was a formidable opponent – and she was more than glad to have narrowly escaped a randomized match with her comrade.

- _He's so strong…!_ \- She thought to herself. - _Just like that time…_ -

As the Kiri ninja laid on the cold arena floor with arms sprawled in defeat, Gaara approached him, picking up the blade beside his immobile foe. Holding the blade in his hand, Gaara held it towards the Kiri ninja's throat – instead choosing to end the battle with a gesture of mercy rather than his weapon of choice. While the incapacitated Kiri ninja laid immobile, his dark frightened eyes glanced up from the blade and met Gaara's expression of calm. Surprising him, his foe from Suna was choosing not to kill him – but respecting his rites as a fellow shinobi-at-arms.

"The winner is – Gaara!"

While the remaining genin stood in awe and shock of the quick and ferocious battle, anticipation was growing for the possibilities of the next match. While the leaderboard shuffled through the remaining names, fists were clenched and teeth grit in preparation for battle. Then, the randomizer stopped.

"Our next match is… Nomasaki vs. Yori!"

Silence fell.

Shock erupted through her as she stood beside her teammates from the sound of her name. Pushing herself to look, she could see her name plain-as-day spelt out on the black screen – along with that of her unknown opponent. Swallowing her fear, she breathed in and started down the stairs to the arena's centre. As she reached the circle marked in the centre of the stone-floored room, she paused at her boundary drawn in place for her – the proctor carefully watching every movement. Sensing a large chakra draw closer, she nervously glanced up at the hulking foe who stood across from her – their strength rumbling through her senses and clouding her calm judgement. With a smirk that conveyed the excitement of battle, the towering Kumo ninja scoffed at his small opponent from Suna – eyeing her up and down and noticing her fearful eyes.

"Proctor," He spoke, turning to the flak-jacket-clad ninja before him. "You should call the match now. I'm going to turn her to ash if she doesn't forfeit."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Catching his attention, he turned back towards her – sensing a change in her appearance. Instead of fear cloaking her lilac eyes, there was some held courage. However, it was a mere mask for her fright of her opponent's strength. "You're brave," He scoffed, grinning at her narrowed eyes. Forming a hand-sign as the proctor leapt away, he sprung into action. "….but not brave enough!" Within an instant, an enormous burst of flames erupted from his mouth.

"Fire release! Fireball jutsu!"

Flame burst forth towards her in a frenzy.

 _Fire._

Shocked at the sight, Nomasaki felt herself momentarily pause for a moment – just as she did earlier against the Kiri ninja. Before her eyes, she saw reflections of the night when her village was destroyed – the orange flames scorching her mountain home to the ground in the dark of night. Reality entering her senses as the feeling of intense heat drew near, she dashed away from the flames across the sand-ridden arena floor. Skidding along the floor, she looked up to face her foe as she sensed his chakra approaching – her white tunic dirtied and the armor plating on her shins covered in ash. In great force, her Kumo foe approached again with more strength than before – the fire release attack striking the ground and tearing the foundation below them.

Running from the blast, she tried to push the recollections of her village burning to the back of her mind, but each time she saw the flames it emerged to the forefront of her memories. Making a corner behind a large slab of rubble, she took refuge – panting quietly to herself as she could feel the rising heat and anxiety rising into her chest. Holding her breath, she closed her eyes. In an instant, the flames blasted into the rubble. From the cover of the smoke, she ran once more away from the fire – until another blast was heading directly towards her. Quickly, she narrowly evaded the burst of flames, but lost her footing from the oncoming piles of rubble at her feet.

Landing to the ground with a thud, she winced as she began to lift herself up.

"You can't run away forever!"

As she sat on her ashy knees, she sensed her burgeoning opponent forming another hand-sign for a fire release jutsu – ready to strike at any moment.

While she fed into her thoughts of the sight Yama burning, the screams of her people filled her mind as she remembered scaling down the mountain during the ruthless snowstorm that cold night – her struggle to survive following her ever since. Was she cut out to be a kunoichi of Suna – or was it all just a fatal mistake on her part? Was it wrong of her to listen to the ANBU's offer of freedom, even though exile into the desert would have ended with the same ultimate fate – death? Pondering her choices, she remembered the words of Hanone – the ones he spoke of her father, the man who was still alive after abandoning his wife and child many years ago – a ninja of Suna. Knowing what Hanone would say to her now, she would be victim of a brute comparison.

" _You're running away? You're just like your bastard of a father…"_

His imaginary words almost seemed true to her – she was indeed doing the same as _that man_.

Becoming a kunoichi was never something she intended in her lifetime, as living in Yama would have remained peaceful if not for the invasion by Ishigakure and their bandit hoard. That dream was all but destroyed in that fateful night of destruction. Survival was her main instinct, and the wolf inside of her knew that was her main drive – to persevere in the face of adversity.

To be a kunoichi was to survive, and to survive she must be strong enough to carry on – and that was her decided destiny.

Slowly, she rose up from the sandy ash at her feet – locking eyes with her adversary with a determined glint to her narrowed light purple eyes. She was not backing down. The wolf that lay inside her blood boiled and growled for the chance to break free and let loose its jaws.

"This is your last chance!" Her foe shouted, ready to strike with another violent blast of flames. "Forfeit now!"

Unwavering, she stood with her fists clenched at her sides, her eyes narrowing into a glare as she could feel her canines begin to grow in size within her closed jaws. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he released his hold on his jutsu.

"You've asked for it!"

A massive stream of fire erupted towards her in great speed – and she stood her ground in front of the blast.

As the hulking Kumo ninja smirked, believing his battle was won, he noticed a silhouette visible beyond the flames. Shocked, he witnessed a powerful wind release jutsu break through the flames, fanning them away from their target and dissipating the impact within a massive cloud of smoke – shielding his eyes from the burning air with his arm.

Slowly, as the smoke began to clear in the arena before him, he could see the shape again – only its image was more visible. His eyes widening in shock, from the cover of smoke, a white wolf was revealed before him in the place of his small and meek opponent – its legs burnt from the scorching ash and muzzle barred into a vicious growl as it arched its back in preparation to strike him down.

Before he had time to react, the wolf lunged at him at full force with its fangs and claws – weighing him down and near mauling him in the process. As his screams of pain filled the air, some of the genin looked on in shock and fright, while others were intrigued by her true power – a rare Kekkei Genkai that only few have witnessed for themselves. Once her opponent was unable to continue fighting, she backed off – transforming back into her human shape. While she glared down at the life she spared, she wiped away blood from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve as the arena around her fell silent.

"The winner… is Nomasaki."

As the surprised and shocked gazes from her team watched her from above, Gaara and his siblings stood silent from her match. Unshaken, Temari looked on with suspicious curiosity of the strange foreigner that wore her village's headband on her forehead, while Kankuro seemed visually disturbed by the fight – not being aware of her abilities until the moment she shook her skin. With a gaze of intrigue, Gaara watched her from afar, admiring her progress from a distance and wondering what provoked her to change her battle plan.

She was right – she was stronger than the last time they met.


	12. The Debts to Be Paid (Part I End)

**Chapter 12**  
 **The Debts to Be Paid**

* * *

Since hearing her name ring out from the proctor's echoing voice in the arena, Nomasaki stood in silence.

With her eyes drawn wide as she panted from entering her true form, she peered upon her unconscious opponent with her expression etched in shock. She did it - she won. Who knew from catching the sight of fire that it would trigger the wolf inside of her to stir in such a rude awakening. Never before until that particular day had the sight of flames made her relive those painful memories of her home that was lost. While a team of medical-nin tended to the injured Kumo shinobi, they lay his large lumbering body upon the stretcher and wicked him off to be treated for his numerous wounds. None of his injuries were life-threatening, she saw to it that they were not fatal - but in an instant, her mind could have persuaded her otherwise. A chill went through her as she forced herself to turn back towards the stairwell to meet her eager teammates. Strangely, she no longer left like herself.

Had she truly changed?

Coming to terms as she solemnly walked towards the exit, she held her saddened gaze upon the floor as she walked. She left the old-Nomasaki behind in the mountains of cold, and all the elements of a peaceful civilian life behind with it. She was now a shinobi, a shinobi of Suna - just like her father. Seething with disgust, her gut twisted at the mere thought of that man who she never knew. Knowing he was alive somewhere left her uneasy and restless in her resentment she held towards him. She remembered Hanone's taunts against her frail humanity as she took her place beside her comrades, their faces blank and stunned with faint caution riddled behind them. She paid them no mind, hoping to get the rest of the day over with.

"That was... unexpected." Shinto broke the silence. "Good job, Nomasaki."

Catching her attention, she turned towards him, meeting his glance. "...Thanks."

"Shinto!" Meiyumi gasped, pointing to the leaderboard. "Look! Quickly!"

Directing their attention towards the flashing screen, Shinto's name was written clear as day for all in the arena to see. The name of his opponent was unfamiliar to the Suna genin, meaning that his adversary was to be either a shinobi from Kirigakure of Kumogakure. Itching to fight all afternoon, the moment he seen his name sprawled upon the screen made him shiver with anxiety. His anticipation suddenly left him, his fists shaking lightly at his sides.

"You've got this, Shinto!" Meiyumi cheered, patting him on the shoulder.

"Uh, yeah," He nodded, nervously. "...I got this!"

"A reminder for all combatants - those who finished their matches are to report to the examination room!"

The voice through the loudspeaker startled Nomasaki slightly. Turning towards the screen, she paused for a moment and then looked towards her teammates. She did not want to leave them. Sensing a chakra approach her nearby, a proctor clothed in the shinobi attire of Kumogakure stepped towards her from the stairwell, his expression aged and stern as his dark eyes narrowed at her.

"You there," He said. "You heard the head-proctor, all genin who finished their matches are to leave."

Nervous and narrow-eyed, she gave a small nod to his command, following closely behind as the Meiyumi's cheering for Shinto soon fell on deaf ears.

* * *

The examination room was the most uncomfortable experience she had ever faced.

Being judged by others without knowing it was one thing, but having a selected team of superiors judge and critique her on her progress in the exams was something that made her chest tighten with anxiety. She felt as if she lost the ability to breathe in that cramped room cold with concrete and stern glances. Holding her certification in her hand, she walked out from the final examination room far down the corridor that led to the arena. An expression of surprised pride painted her face as the exam room door closed behind her in the silent corridor of grey stone.

She finally did it - she was now a Chunin of Suna, and at the age of fourteen.

Bitterly, her gut twisted with the memory of her fight. She felt regret for her loss of her controlled anger, but proud that she managed to survive such a daunting task against the flames that chased her at every step she took. Walking down the dimly lit corridor, she heard the echo of her footsteps bounce from the carved stone walls that surrounded her. Becoming lost in her thoughts, she pondered of her kekkei genkai, the Ōkamitoko - and the distraught expressions from the ones who saw her change into a ravenous beast bridled with rage. She did not want to be remembered for that, but she did not have a choice. It was either become a wolf, or be burned alive. Pondering her past options, she wondered if burning alive was such a horrible fate after all.

Suddenly, she felt a familiar and strong ominous chakra nearby. The chakra lingered upon the air close to where she was headed - its menacing nature gnawing at her senses. Shukaku, she thought - it was close. Startling her from her thoughts, she turned towards the presence as she came to an abrupt pause in her steps. Standing silently, the jinchuriki stood against the wall in the winding hallway with his gaze locked onto the floor. Noticing the red hair and burgundy colored clothes, she recognized their face immediately.

Gaara.

With his proof of certification gleaming from his pocket and his ringed-eyes avoiding hers, he stood in silence while his chakra struck her with its familiar fear - catching her off guard from his presence. She thought of his strong chakra, forcing herself to accept it in her senses.

"Oi!" She jumped, timidly. "You startled me! I... didn't think I'd see you here."

"…Sorry." He spoke, averting his glance from her. "I'm waiting for my siblings to finish up."

As she stood near him, her fear slowly subsided as she grew used to his heavy chakra – remembering his ferocious and swift strength. In her thoughts, she had to remind herself that his chakra was that of his tailed-beast - and she knew better than to get them mixed up. Embarrassed from her initial reaction, she scratched the back of her gold head, giving a timid smile as she looked away.

"My bad, I can't quite control my sensory abilities yet. I… can't shut it off, so I can always sense chakra."

Across from him in the corridor, she briefly stood along the stone wall, looking up at the cracked ceiling above. Relaxing, she slid down the wall until she was sitting, patting down the thin armor plating that was on her shins and wrists. Her white tunic was dirtied with the evidence of battle and survival from Blood Mountain, as her headband lightly gleamed on her forehead. Tiny flecks of blood dotted her clothes, he noticed, as he found himself glancing towards her from across the hallway. Although her match was brief, it was certainly a messy affair. For the first time in ages, the sight of blood did nothing to his psyche - not a stir or a rumble from Shukaku. His sealing must be effective, he thought. Since that time months ago when he faced the Ishigakure shinobi in the Land of Rivers, Shukaku had not bothered to make any attempts of emergence. To him, it was a long-awaited relief.

"Shukaku in particular… I can feel how dense it is, combined with your chakra." She said with a subtle nod. "It's chakra is hard for me to tune out." Distracting herself from her troubling thoughts, she formed a light smile upon her lips. "My teammates are still there, too. I hope they pass! I'm the only one from my team who made it."

Gaara turned to her with an expressionless stare from his ringed-eyes, listening to her words. Unused to casual conversation, he was unsure of how to socialize with someone other than his siblings. Although they did have scattered interactions that were brief and usually tinged with conflict, they were still scattered interactions nonetheless. They were comrades - a recluse jinchuriki still feared by his village and an outsider from the far mountains who was descended from a clan of wolf-people. They were both self-redeeming misfits, both of them sharing the same pain and working towards the same goals for acceptance. As he examined her friendly smile from a distance, he carefully calculated how to respond to her kind small-talk. After a moment of silence in the aged corridor, he closed his eyes as he turned away from her in his stance.

"You've met all of the requirements, like the rest of us." He explained. "You're skilled enough to earn the title of 'chunin'… these exams proved it."

"Y-You think so?"

Her thoughts getting the better of her, she remembered the sight of the opponent she faced only hours ago. The shifting change of her skin to fur was still fresh in her mind, and she grimaced to herself as she was reminded of the stunned and shocked faces of the other genin who watched. She acted brashly - and she knew it. If only her instincts were not so daunting, she thought to herself - if only there was another way. Her glance upon her lap saddening, she felt a lump of guilt swell in her throat.

"I... don't think I was meant to be a shinobi. Even now after finishing these exams, there's something about it that makes me feel... uneasy."

If her village had avoided attack, she would still be living in her family's empty homestead with Hanone standing guard close by on the snowy hilltop. Although the lands were harsh and coated in thick blankets of ice and snow, she saw herself living as a quaint farmer if she had the choice to remain in Yamagakure. Dealing with the fearful villagers was something she was always used to since she was a child, their barks of aggression and fright for her bloodline nipping at her in the cold - and that would have been the only drawback if she stayed.

She accepted that.

Having no home to return to since that night of fire, her life was bleak with hope. Ending up in Sunagakure was both a godsend and a curse. Never again would she see snow when she would awake, only sand would greet her - and the cold was replaced by the harshness of the unbearable heat. The more she thought to herself, she felt her heavy heart grow light with the thoughts of how she liked the desert when it turned cold in the nights and the faces of her comrades on Team Hashira. Becoming a shinobi might not have been her ultimate choice, but she was thankful for the void it filled.

"But, you're also very skilled… more skilled than anyone!" Turning to him, she gave a light smile of gratitude. "You were able to save me from those Ishigakure ninja so easily… I wouldn't be surprised if they promoted you to jonin after this."

Narrowing his ringed-eyes at the floor, he took in her words. "I still have a long way to go… to prove myself."

"To prove yourself?"

"I want to become Kazekage."

Curious from his words, she examined the determination and seriousness that gleamed in his turquoise eyes. "Kazekage?" She repeated. "That's the leader of Sunagakure, isn't it?"

Upon seeing a subtle nod from him in response, she glanced back to her lap in deep thought - surprised by his reveal. Only weeks ago, Gaara had told his brother of his intentions for the village. Knowing that Gaara would be the next suitable candidate for such a role once he came of age, it nonetheless took Kankuro by surprise to hear the words uttered from his younger siblings that was once hellbent on murdering anyone who looked at him in the wrong manner. Instead, he stood a changed young man - wanting nothing more than to protect his home as its next Kazekage. For the first time in his life, Kankuro had seen Gaara smile that day. As the two brothers stood watching the sunset from the village cliffs, Gaara knew he gained a confidant in his previous estranged siblings. Sensing the familiar and shared understanding in her as he stood across from her in the silent hallway, he decided to put his trust in her as well.

"I want to protect the village as its leader... to right my wrongs." He answered. "Becoming a chunin was only a minor step in that direction, and I intend to succeed."

"I can see that happening,"

With a trace of surprise in his stoic glance, he turned towards her. His eyes widened when he seen a light smile etched upon her scratched face. Her expression appeared genuine - trusting, even. As he looked into her strange purple eyes, he noticed a glimmer of newfound courage, replacing her frequent shyness that he often saw when he glanced towards her.

"You would make a great Kazekage for Suna, I'm sure of it. And… if you need any help," She nodded. "I will be there for you, because… I believe in you. I will be there, I promise."

From hearing her words, a faint trace of a smile became apparent on his pale face. Surprised, he was warmed that someone else shared the same ideals as himself. She truly was strange, and that was what he liked about her. Meeting her friendly expression, he nodded back.

"Thanks."

"Aye, Nomasaki!"

Turning and standing up on her feet from the sound of the voice, Nomasaki could feel the chakra of her teammates. Their footsteps echoing down the hall, she saw Shinto and Meiyumi exit the exam room, Shinto's arm raised up for a wave. Team Hashira had survived the final test. Both of them were in once piece, she thought to herself - a wave of relief coming over her as she saw them approach. Although they were covered in the evidence of battle, they were both alright.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay," She asked. "How did it go?"

"Passed!" Meiyumi chuckled with a smile. "Shinto failed. He thought he could stand his own against-,"

"M-Meiyumi!" Shinto shouted, embarrassed to death – his proud character dissipating to nothing from shame. "D-Don't spread it around!"

Suddenly as he stood with his teammates, he noticed Gaara standing across from them in the hall. Standing in silence, the jinchuriki watched their interactions with his ringed-eyes calm and observant. Dismayed from the sight of him, Shinto's expression turned into one of disgust - sensing the one-tailed beast's chakra dancing in the dry air around them. Shukaku was taunting him, he thought. Realizing there was contact made between the jinchuriki and his outsider teammate, he felt his blood boil in his veins.

"What are you doing here, bastard?" He spat, narrowing his dark eyes towards him. "Don't bother our teammates, especially if I'm around! I don't care if you saved her life… we'll never trust the likes of you!"

Gaara glared right back at him, his ringed-eyes locking onto his in the same nature and tone in dead silence. The air felt tense within the corridor as they glared at each other – alerting the sensory kunoichi who stood close by. She was aware of Shinto's distrust in Gaara, and although understanding of his fear of Shukaku, she thought it was irrational to hate Gaara the way he did. Despite her previous explanations, her words fell often fell on deaf ears. Concerned, Nomasaki turned to meet Shinto's glare, her eyes pleading as she stepped closer between them.

"Don't," She interrupted. "He's… a friend."

The words rang in his ears. A friend, Gaara thought - did he hear her right? Surprising him from her guarded defence, he felt both humbled and stunned to hear someone defend him in such a way. Other than his siblings in recent times and the Uzumaki who he fought during the last exams, no one had dared to call him such. Despite appearing near expressionless on the outside, on the inside, he was touched by her kind words. From the girl he found collapsed in the desert a year ago, he gained an ally – a friend.

"Friend?" Shinto scoffed, turning to Nomasaki with a narrowed glance in frustration. "He's a killer! He's just Shukaku in living skin!"

"He's not!" She argued. "Trust me, I could sense it if he was to begin with."

For a moment, the two teammates exchanged tense glances with each other. The more they locked eyes between each other, the more Nomasaki could feel her wolfishness rising within her – her fangs slowly growing in size within her closed jaws. The beast was still ripe from its emergence in the earlier fight, and the angrier she became, the more she felt her skin heave as she pondered changing her form. Sighing, Shinto shrugged and walked off into the corridor towards the shadows of the exit - surrendering.

"Let's get out of here…" He groaned. "I don't have time for this…"

Before Nomasaki could speak further with him, Meiyumi stepped before her with an assuring smile, desperately trying to change the subject. "Come on," She spoke. "Let's go tell sensei the good news. We're both chunin, now! Remember?"

"O-Oh," Nomasaki acknowledged, calming herself. "Right."

As she walked off with her teammates, she glanced back at him as he stood alone in silence, concern visible in her lilac eyes as he continued down the hall. Surprising her, Gaara was gone, disappeared with his sand without a trace…

* * *

Once the Chunin Exams were over, the Suna shinobi soon returned to their home in the vast and barren desert to the far west of the lands.

Upon gathering the results, the Suna Council summoned every team that participating in the exams and gave their final critique – either awarding them with the title 'Chunin' or forcing them to stay genin until the next round of testing. To no one's surprise, the infamous Sand Siblings all received their promotions to Chunin – with Gaara the exception, instead being promoted by two levels - to Jonin. Greatly impressed by his performance in Kumo, the council was further solidified in him being their first choice for the Fifth Kazekage – although he was still very young and lacking the experience in leadership. As a gesture of faith, they further segregated him from his peers – placing him in command of the normal troops to better grow his skills in leadership and command.

Team Hashira – the only rookie team of Suna to survive and complete the second stage of the exam – were summoned to the council chambers as well. Stunning the team members, all three of the genin were promoted to Chunin – even Shinto, who embarrassingly lost his match against his opponent from Kiri. Never again would he underestimate water-release techniques against his earth-release – that was a mistake that near cost him his life. Meiyumi was also granted permission to study higher-level medical ninjutsu at the Medic Corps due to her precise chakra control and knowledge about the human body. Nomasaki – on the other hand – was the unexpected object of attention from the council. Not only did she survive the entirety of the exams, but she passed the written exams with stellar grades and displayed survivorship and strategy while in the dangerous confines of Blood Mountain with her team – allowing them to survive and continue to the next stage. Begrudgingly, the council gave her the tan flak-jacket of the Suna chunin, glaring at the fourteen year-old outsider from the mountains as she accepted the garb. Not since thirty years prior had an outsider become a chunin in their isolated desert village – and she broke the silence.

After her and her teammates said their final goodbyes as Team Hashira, the flak jacket-clad shinobi went their separate ways from the Suna Council chambers – departing for their new respective paths as Chunin. As Nomasaki made her way down the winding corridor, she could sense an unnerving chakra following closely – watching her from beyond the shadows. Catching wind of their presence, she glanced behind herself briefly – hoping it was Shinto or Meiyumi instead. They were nowhere to be seen or heard, and the presence was still tailing her. Approaching the silent outdoors, the chakra suddenly disappeared. Brushing it off as nothing of concern, she walked past the clay stairs that wrapped around the stucco walls of the mansion – no one was in sight – no council members, no other Chunin, no ANBU. The still and silent air sent a brief chill to her spine as she could sense the presence return. Pausing in her steps as the desert sun eclipsed the village cliffs in an orange veil, she narrowed her eyes towards it.

"Show yourself!" She barked, reaching for a kunai from the holster on her thigh – preparing to strike at her would-be attacker. "I can sense you following me!"

"Your sensory skills are quite remarkable, if I don't say so myself."

Shocking her, she whipped her head around towards the cold voice. On the clay steps behind her, a man stood with his hand on its worn railing – his face aged and as if cut from stone with dark eyes that glared towards her in a condescending nature. Wearing the garb of the Suna councilmen, his appearance rendered great suspicion – especially since he was noticeably absent from the chamber where the new Chunin were recently gathered. Something felt off to her about him, but she could not figure out what it was. Relaxing her stance, she glared up at him – her lilac eyes gleaming in the setting sun.

"What do you want?"

"I know of you… wolf girl." The man sighed, glancing down at her. "You're a foreigner, a homeless beast with nowhere to call home or a family to care of you. I'm surprised that you decided to stay, being that you were taken here against your will. I, too, am a foreigner as well. My village was destroyed in a great calamity during the war, and Suna was willing enough to open their borders to me. Now I am a trusted senior advisor on the Suna Council, and I am serving my village well… as I've been for the last twenty years. You can call me Kenzō."

Slightly surprised by his words, she gave him a glance of suspicious curiosity. A calamity?

"You may not be aware of this, but we all have debts to pay as shinobi… especially those from the outside who seek to call a foreign land 'home'…" Closing his eyes as he took in the dry desert air, he opened them and shot her a dark glare in retaliation – chilling her slightly. "As a foreigner, you have your debts you have to pay. I expect you pay your debts by serving the Suna Council… which is why I'm approaching you today." As he examined her defensive expression, he scoffed to himself with a bitter smirk. "I won't lie, I can't stand to see your smug, dirty blood wander through our streets and wear our crest on your forehead. Truth be told, I'd rather you disappear with the rest of your beast-loving people than be before me in this room."

"Then what is it you want?" She countered. "You said you'd rather me dead than be in your village… so why approach me in the cover of darkness?" As she could feel her canines growing inside her jaws from held frustration, she narrowed her eyes at him as he stood above her. "What's stopping me from going to the higher-ups to report you on this? Should I see the one masquerading as the Fourth Kazekage?"

"That's quite a sharp tongue you have, but… I wouldn't lift a finger if I were you…-"

Gesturing his arm towards the balcony above where he stood, she followed his movements with her sight. Suddenly, she felt the wave of chakra erupt through her senses – her eyes widening in shock as she saw what lay behind him. Surrounding her from the winding clay balcony were dozens of armed masked shinobi – all of their porcelain expressions boring through her as she stood alone in the centre of their circle. If she were to run, it would mean certain death – she was effectively trapped.

"See these masked shinobi? They bend at my will. They listen to every command I say. Tracker-nin are one of the most elite and silent killers Suna has to offer. They protect the inside with their espionage… and the outside with their manhunting skills, taking out any shinobi who flee the confines of the village with our secrets." Noticing her expression of fear in her strange eyes, he gave a coy smile in smug authority. "You can be one of them, but not until the time is right."

"W-What are you saying?" She stammered, wide-eyed. "One of them?"

"In due time, I will approach you again with what you must do in order to fulfil your debt as a shinobi to Suna. Unless… you'd rather be exiled instead? Or… worse?"

Sensing his intent, she silently gulped – swallowing her fear as she could feel small beads of sweat dot her forehead. He was leaving her with no choice in the matter – his subordinates exerting his will with their gleaming eyes behind their menacing shrouds of masks. But what was it that he wanted from her?

Forming a single hand-sign, he gave her a dark smirk from above. "Until we meet again… wolf girl."

Within a gust of desert winds, Kenzō disappeared – his armed tracker-nin vanishing from her senses as if absorbed by the cover of the growing shadows of the night. Silently, she stood stunned from her encounter with the strange councilman – shaken by his proposition and knowing there was no way to know where or when he will approach her in the future.

She only just became a Chunin, but her trials as a kunoichi of Suna were just beginning…

* * *

 _ **~ Part I End ~**_


	13. Half Blood (Part II)

**_Author's note (2020/04/03)_ : **new chapter added to flesh out Part II of the story

* * *

 **Sand and Snow**

* * *

 _ **~ Part II ~**_

* * *

 **Chapter 13  
Half Blood**

* * *

The winds were brisk with heat that day, a sign that summer had reached its peak.

Trapped in a cycle of a never-ending bathe of warmth, the lands that were coated in the pale sands of eternity were seldom subject to the cold winds to the north or the changing seasons of the east. Not even the cool winds from the seas to the south offered clarity. The only mercy in the desert was the night, a time where the land turned blue from the moonlight that danced upon the dunes, caressed by the dropping temperatures and its cool winds. It would be several more hours until dusk, and the heat scorched everything in its wake. The Land of Wind was a most unforgiving place.

As the winds swayed his messy crimson hair that day, he stood calm upon the village cliffs overlooking the horizon of yellow wastes. It was the same place he confided in Kankuro his dream of becoming Kazekage, he remembered, when he returned from Konoha a changed boy no longer ruled by the darkness that fed into his fractured heart. It seemed so long ago to him now.

The name ' _Gaara of the Sand Waterfall'_ soon faded into the sands of time, the rumors of his bloodlust falling flat on the winds before they could reach a traveller's ear. Just as the elders wanted, the Kazekage clan once again laid claim to the village authority through a descendant, but this time fate had it include a jinchuriki. The decision was tumultuous at best due to the elders who shunned him for being the feared jinchuriki of Shukaku, but they desired a powerful heir from the Kazekage clan bloodline above all else.

Gaara was the only plausible option.

Becoming a powerful and feared shinobi across the lands in his youth, he quickly rose throughout the ranks of his village, earning the nomination for Kazekage at the mere age of fifteen - a young man, albeit still a teenager. Nevertheless, he decided upon himself to reign with a wise and progressive outlook for his village and its citizens. Surprising himself, it was as though his mere nomination gained him respect from his peers as if overnight.

Nearing sixteen, Gaara stood no longer a boy but a young man. His patience and prowess was etched into the stoic glint of his seafoam eyes, looking off into the desert as the winds blew past, swaying his red hair and ruffling the folds of his burgundy shirt.

With a silent breath, he closed his ringed-eyes and entered his mind.

* * *

 _Towering over him was the tanuki, the legendary and feared sand-spirit of Suna._

 _Its jagged concave jaw appeared as if it were mocking the ant-sized human its shadow covered, permanently grinning at any mortal in its sights. A creature of condescension and short-temperedness, Gaara thought to himself. For the first time in years, Shukaku stood before him without the barriers that chained it to the water-covered floor of his psyche. Strange enough, there was a subtle glint of calm within the beast's black and yellow eyes._

" _I must say…" Shukaku began. "For a brat, you've certainly grown more trusting of me. Too trusting, if I should say so myself."_

" _And you're as rowdy as ever, especially since I lifted the final seal." Gaara answered, his tone crisp and cool. "You should know that I have no choice but to trust you. We are bound together, you and me – whether we like it or not."_

 _Shukaku answered back in silence, its glance fixated on the young jinchuriki who stood before it. Only the sound of its swaying tail filled the echoing chamber. Averting his eyes from the beast, Gaara looked down at the water below._

" _I have to admit, harnessing your chakra certainly took more effort than I anticipated."_

" _Heh!" Shukaku scoffed, amused. "I figured stealing your sleep makes it an even trade… now that you've grown resistant to my madness." Cracking the sand riddling its expression, its forged grin spread across its jaw. "Or have you…? I wonder… do you still itch at the sight of a full moon?"_

 _Rising his gaze to meet the creature's expression, the beast's sputtering laughter that escaped from its grin did not move him one bit. "I only itch to silence you, nothing more."_

 _A bellowing laugh echoed from the tanuki, rumbling the rippling water beneath them._

" _You're an amusing runt, I'd give you that!" Shukaku scoffed. "Your bastard of a gold-dust father is probably rolling in his grave, knowing how far you've come! Being a jinchuriki is a greater curse than any, you should be grateful that I let you use my chakra at will!"_

 _While looking into the beast's eyes, he was reminded of his friend. The knucklehead ninja from Konohagakure of the far eastern lands, Uzumaki Naruto. It had been two years of bitter work but thanks to his resolve from their battle, Gaara stood before his tailed-beast a changed shinobi and a changed jinchuriki. The silent bond of the unspoken friendship he held for Naruto only solidified his end goals further, pushing him past the shadow of what he once was. It warmed him to see how far he came since then._

" _Shukaku, until now I've always considered you unpleasant," Gaara called, his voice calm. When the beast looked down to its jinchuriki, it swore it saw the faint line of a smile on his lips. "It was because I was a jinchuriki that I was able to meet Naruto… So, there's one thing I'm grateful to you for now."_

" _Ah, that fox brat!" Shukaku jeered, whipping its tail behind it. "You did become difficult to control after that encounter, I must say…" Leaning closer with a rumbling echo to its movement, it rested its paws before him, its monstrous head glaring into the calm human. "Since you've met that strange-eyed wolf-girl, you lost all interest in being the killer you were destined to be… why?"_

 _Hearing Shukaku mention her struck him for a moment._

 _It had been nearly a year since they last spoke, seeing her depart from the village along with his sister as her squad's captain. Being in the normal troops as a young jonin was the ideal path to reach his goal of Kazekage, but it kept him further away from forming more bonds with his peers – like Nomasaki. When he saw her last, she was too short and scrawny of a girl for her Suna flak jacket and he remembered how she told him she was excited to leave Suna on a mission for the first time since the Chunin Exams. Her strange eyes were full of hope, but he could still see a faint glimmer of fear within them. Whether that was from his chakra or from being a shinobi, he was unsure._

 _As he watched her leave with Temari and their teammates that morning, memories of the wounds he inflicted upon her suddenly came rushing back. In his mind, her cheek was sliced and bleeding, and the shoulder of her white tunic was wet with crimson. Keeping his distance from the others not only let him learn how to control the chakra of his tailed-beast better, but it also strengthened his resolve to never again allow hurt to come to her – or anyone. He was going to protect them instead._

" _Forming bonds is more precious than living a selfish existence." He answered. "Naruto taught me that… and so did she."_

 _Lifting up its head, Shukaku let out a booming laugh. Underneath, the water shook and rumbled as if a fair sea. Unmoving, Gaara's eyes narrowed slightly towards the creature, confused by its response to his words. Once it was finished, the beast gave him a vile glance of dismay._

" _Don't tell me you still think of her…" It groaned, pointing to him. "You know I can read your thoughts! A day hasn't gone by in the past year when you haven't thought of that mutt! You're still shaken by the wounds you gave her, aren't you?"_

" _That's none of your concern, Shukaku."_

 _Remembering her friendly face, his thoughts grew saddened at the memories of her wounds. The blood. How his tailed-beast twisted and writhed at the feel of her nearby, his own psyche being pulled in the process. Even after the exams, he remembered how she would be the one to approach him during assignments when no one else would, how she would offer her bento to him on missions together, and he even watched her defend his name from afar with his Third Eye jutsu from her disgruntled teammate. She was surprisingly kind and warm towards him – and she called him her friend._

 _A friend._

 _For the first time since he made amends with his siblings, he had the friendship of another offered to him through her friendly and timid glance. As he remembered the strange color of her eyes, he realized there was something more than hope and fear within them. Bravery was there as well. He had to admire her for that. Averting his eyes from his tailed-beast, he pushed himself to see past the wounds burned forever into his memory._

" _I… hurt her, yet she forgives me and calls me her friend… It's perplexing." He said, looking up to the tanuki's dismayed scowl. "She's unlike the others."_

" _Knowing you won't listen – I'll tell you anyways," Shukaku growled, lowering its monstrous head closer. "You've let a wolf come to your door… That much I'm willing to burst forth and kill her myself!"_

 _Standing calm and still, Gaara was unmoved. "Do you feel threatened?"_

" _Keh_ \- what do you take me for?! Some scared mutt with my tail between my legs!?"

 _Shukaku was not pleased. Whipping its embellished tail with its infinite mosaic of purple markings, the strength between them suddenly became noticeable as the beast's chakra filled the chamber. Wind struck the chamber from its jagged jaw, blowing against the jinchuriki with an unimaginable force. Standing firm, Gaara blocked the winds with his arms folded before him, the fabric of his burgundy jacket whipping behind as he stood on the disturbed water._

" _I'm the mighty Shukaku – Ultimate Defence is my pride!" The beast wailed. "All I know is that while tanuki and fox are rivals, wolves are our true enemy! They have eyes that see everything… their presence lurking amongst the winds like ghosts. Them and their intrusive eyes… curse them all!"_

 _As the winds calmed, Gaara looked upon his tailed-beast with a subtle smug. "I never took you to be the fearful type, Shukaku." Seeing the beast taken aback by his retort, he calmed his expression, the familiar stoic and stern demeanor returning to his pale face. "I'm afraid your concerns aren't needed here. There's only one wolf in Suna, and she is the last. Rest assured, I doubt she'll injure your pride."_

" _The girl can't be trusted." Shukaku finished, its words heavy with contempt. "Mark my words – wolves are bad news… and you know it!"_

* * *

Feeling the warm breeze sway by, Gaara opened his eyes to his reality.

For a conversation that felt as if it lasted hours, it was only a second in the world around him. The hot air of morning weighed heavy on the winds, the desert sun still blinding in the pale blue skies. Since lifting the final seal on Shukaku, he became not only accustomed to using the beast's chakra but also paying mind to its want for internal chatter. Things were still far from amicable, but the beast's bloodlust was at least calmed for the time being.

With a sigh, Gaara closed his eyes. The words Shukaku spoke to him fought against each other in his thoughts, pulling at each other until there was nothing left. As he suspected, the beast was fixated on her as well. Strange, he thought to himself – but why? Perhaps the beast was being tumultuous – just as its hatred of the nine-tails and foxes. Tanuki were truly strange and antagonising creatures – and definitely short of temper and patience.

"Gaara-sama,"

As the sound of the wooden door creaked upon the rooftop, a Suna shinobi entered and knelt behind him while the winds rose with the sands. Opening his eyes, Gaara's focus remained on the village horizon below, his expression stoic and calm.

"The Suna Council has requested an audience with you, discussing your imminent appointment as Fifth Kazekage."

Glancing towards the shinobi, he gave a subtle nod. "Very well."

* * *

Seated where his father once sat years before, Gaara found himself before his council.

Towering behind him were the stone-carved statues of the past Kazekage, keeping a watchful and silent eye on the council chambers through their slate expressions of might and strength. Considered a holy place by some of the elders, to enter the room uninvited was an act of high disrespect. Surrounding the young leader at the grand table were his advisors, the elders, and the senior councilmen – each of them with a unique focus and area of expertise. Much to the chagrin of the elders, a senior advisor was noticeably absent from the important meeting. Kenzō, who normally sat at the left of the Kazekage had missed the meeting due to a 'prior engagement'. The council voiced it as arrogance. Thankfully, a familiar face sat upon the council beside him. Clothed in his council garbs, Baki sat sternly at the right-hand of his former student, carefully overlooking the forms laid out before him.

While the young Kazekage stood to give the opening address, a senior advisor began the discussions as Gaara returned to his seat calm and collected before his councilmen.

"First order of business," The senior advisor - Zarō started, glancing towards the young Kazekage. "We must assign you an assistant, someone we can trust with abilities that are useful. They will be aiding in your day-to-day tasks and be a devoted confidant."

Another councilman nodded. "I agree. Being that Kankuro-sama and Temari-sama are already bodyguard and ambassador, respectively, it should be someone from outside the Kazekage clan. It should be a jonin of Sunagakure, and someone who understands the laws and customs of the village. Preferably a shinobi with great expertise."

Baki turned to Gaara, who sat silently as his ringed-eyes pondered the thoughts in his mind. "What say you, Kazekage-sama?" He asked, examining his expression from a distance. "Do you have anyone in mind for the position?"

"Yes," An elder councilman nodded from across the Kazekage, entertaining the idea. "If you have someone selected, that would save us the trouble of scouring the village for a suitable candidate. Our numbers are still quite low… so unfortunately we're low on options."

For a moment, Gaara pondered to himself about the decision. His first decision and act as Kazekage. How should he choose? Someone he could trust with useful abilities, someone who would be loyal to him – someone who could be his confidant. Then, he remembered the girl he saved in the desert nearly two years earlier, the girl who could sense chakra along far distances.

The wolf.

As Shukaku tried to deter him further from her, it seemed the universe was pushing him to choose her as his candidate against all odds. The council seemed to be, anyways. Having only been in Sunagakure for hardly three years, he heard her sensory skills were the talk of the higher-ups since she ascended to chunin following those exams. Word has it that she was recently promoted to jonin-level – Temari told him herself. The more he thought of her, the more he seemed to entertain the idea of taking her on. She fit the requirements laid out by the councilman instantly. She was a jonin, she was a sensory-type, and she was trustworthy. He made his decision.

"Nomasaki of the Yamamori clan," He answered, his eyes gazing at the council in a stern and calm nature. "It's been my recent understanding that the Suna Council promoted her to jonin about a week ago, and she's also a sensory-type shinobi. She is my first choice."

A councilman gasped, dismayed by the suggestion. "The outsider? Can we trust her?"

"Yes." Gaara nodded, serious in his decision. "She's of the village and she displayed her loyalty by choosing to accel within our shinobi ranks. She may be from an outside land, but we can trust her."

One of the councilmen stood from their seat, drawing the ire of the surrounding councillors in attendance. "But the girl knows nothing of our customs!" He shouted. "She's foreign-born, she lacks the blood of the sand -!?"

"That may be," Baki stood, sternly eyeing the disgruntled elder. "But you must remember – the girl came to us. She dons the emblem of Sunagakure on her headband and as Gaara-sama has pointed out – she has devoted her life to be a shinobi of our ranks." Facing the entirety of the council, he gave a subtle nod in agreement. "I support the young Kazekage-sama and his decision."

Somewhat startled by the support, Gaara watched Baki take his seat in silent surprise as the elder grit his teeth and reluctantly took his seat amongst them. For his first decision as the village leader, his former sensei was the first to voice his support. He felt honored, in a way. He almost wished Kankuro was back early from his mission so he could have seen it for himself.

"Alright, then. The motion is put forward." Zarō acknowledged with a nod. Turning to the rest of the council, he gave then a serious glance. "All in favor?"

Within a matter of moments, the strange-eyed foreigner from the northern lands was voted in as the Kazekage's new assistant by the council. It was a vote tense of hard stares and reluctant voicing, striking a nerve in the prejudice of generations passed. As he stood before his new council, Gaara understood then that he had a future of tough negotiations ahead of him. Surprising him, Shukaku had not dared to stir while he sat in council – not even when her name was spoken in full.

He did not know if its lack of voice was a change of heart or it giving up on its warnings…

* * *

"Again!" Temari shouted, giving a coy grin as she readied her fan. "But with more force!"

In the gleam of the dimming afternoon sun, the Suna ninja leapt above into the orange skies and released a forceful wind from his palms. With the swing of her heavy war-fan, Temari countered them with ease, his body awkwardly falling to the cushion of dunes below as her weapon struck the sands with a great impact.

As part of the new jonin training regimen in Sunagakure, the rookie jonin recently entering the ranks were supervised by a seasoned shinobi and tested on their reflexes in battle. Temari gladly took up the position and used her fan as she saw fit, challenging the new jonin with their ninjutsu skills and cunning. Getting a break from the responsibilities of being the Suna Ambassador to Konoha was seen as most desirable on her part, and she deeply missed the thrill of combat.

With a grunt, the young man slowly lifted himself from the sands that covered him, coughing out a clump of wet grains as he tried to stand on his feet.

"You have to put your back into it!" Temari chided with a sigh. "Try it again, Kidora."

"Yes, Temari-sama!"

Watching from a safe distance alone, Nomasaki looked on at her comrades engaged in a friendly spar. The sands were hot against the soles of her shoes as she stood with her katana pierced in the grains before her, her hands clasped over the hilt while she looked on with a light smile on her lips. Dressed in black shinobi attire and the Suna flak jacket while donning her gleaming forehead protector, she stood calm and collected and kept a watchful eye of the spar. The winds were soft against her cheeks that afternoon, her skin of winter growing more tolerant of the abnormal heat and swelter from the desert.

It had been two years since Nomasaki took up the ranks of the Suna shinobi, her boyish frame and meek nature hardened by the ruthless training of her superiors. She was on her way to becoming a seasoned kunoichi, earning the trust of the comrades around her. To the surprise of the elders, the foreigner half-blood was rising through their ranks, wearing their emblem and performing their missions in their stead. The memory of how her hands burnt as she tried to learn medical-ninjutsu from Meiyumi made her look back fondly. Her chakra was too 'wild' as Meiyumi had put it, and lacked the precise control for healing hands. Similar to that was her genjutsu abilities - she had none. All her chakra was good for was for sensing the presence of others and for casting her ninjutsu. Wind and earth release techniques were her forte, but discovering her water affinity was definitely a surprise. Once again, however, her 'wild' chakra could not be tamed to bend to the will of the flowing and calm water. The rank of chunin had suited her so well that the higher-ups decided to promote her to jonin only a week prior – a move that not only surprised her but shocked the elders who protested. Hesitantly, she took on the honor, but she doubted she was ready in the first place.

She had not even made her first kill – and she was a shinobi.

" _A shinobi who cannot kill is not a shinobi"_ , she overheard some of her superiors' banter, _"those who can't be true shinobi are cowards"_. Wrenching in her gut as she walked by, she shuddered at the mere thought. Despite her following her duties for nearly three years, she was still soft at heart, choosing to make the hunt rather than make the kill. Hunting for food in the mountains was one thing – fighting to the death was another. As a shinobi, one's duty is to the mission at hand – and one must complete their mission above all else. A shinobi must not show their emotions at all costs – and a shinobi must _never_ show weakness.

Duty was the only thing that mattered.

She knew all of those things, and still she persisted with a heavy heart. The village granted her freedom after losing her home – what choice did she have?

Sensing a chakra approach, she turned towards her comrades as the presence appeared between them in the sands outside the village. Standing sternly, a bearded Suna ninja caught the attention of Temari and a panting Kidora. The man appeared to be in his forties, maybe older. A messenger, she thought to herself.

"Sorry to interrupt, Temari-sama," The Suna ninja bowed his head. "Our new Kazekage-sama has requested an audience with you."

Resting her fan under her arm, Temari raised a brow. "What seems to be the issue?"

"Not you, Temari-sama." The Suna ninja stepped closer. Gesturing towards Nomasaki, he gave a stern-faced nod in her direction. "The foreigner. Come now, at once."

Jolting her, Nomasaki thought her katana was going to slip out of her fingers. The mention of the Kazekage had certainly taken down her guard, her heart near skipping a beat in the process. "M-Me?" She stammered, shocked. "What for?"

Crunching her feet in the sands, Temari paused between them. Shooting a smug grin towards the messenger, she conveyed her tire of him with her taunting emerald eyes. "Tell my brother we're busy. She'll be at his office chambers when our training for the day is complete."

Taken aback, the bearded Suna ninja flinched, his eyes wide in dismay. "But Kazekage-sama -,"

"But _what?!"_ Temari snapped, asserting her authority. Narrowing her eyes at him, she shot him an expression as stern as it was fearful. She had no time for such annoyances. "Do not forget – I'm his eldest sister. I carry as much bloodline from the late Fourth as he does!"

"Y-Yes, m'lady!" The Suna ninja nodded, his arms straight at his sides. "I-I'll report to him at once!"

When the messenger vanished amongst the sand-ridden winds, Temari walked towards her while Kidora clumsily gathered all his discarded shuriken lost within the dunes. Seeing her approach, Nomasaki met her glance with curious and nervous eyes.

"I don't understand…" She started to ask, looking down. "What would Gaara, no – Kazekage-sama want from me?"

With a sigh, Temari pondered as her hand found its way under her chin in thought. "If I had to make any guess, I'd say it would be to his guard – or assistant." Turning towards her, she gave a subtle nod. "Remember – he's Kazekage now. You're a sensory-type, so there is a certain need for your kind."

"My kind?"

"He has yet to take office yet he's bold enough to start calling council…" Temari groaned to herself jokingly. "Such a cocky brat, he is sometimes. Father _did_ train him well, I suppose." Turning to her, she gave a light smirk. "I wonder what he has in store you for… Maybe his assistant… or a guard. With you, you could go either way."

"Not to sound rude, Temari-senpai," Nomasaki spoke, her timid-nature latching onto her voice. "But I don't know Gaara that well – aside from the odd run-in during missions." Averting her eyes in shame, she looked down towards the sands around her feet. "I was just promoted to jonin last week… I don't know what he wants from me, I don't really have anything to offer."

Startling her, Temari firmly placed her hand on the shoulder of her flak jacket. Flinching, she met Temari's smug grin beside her. "I guess you should find out, then! Just for that – I'm calling off our training so you can greet him early."

"T-Temari-senpai -?!"

She was barely able to spit out the words.

Walking off towards Kidora, Temari left her friend alone to contemplate her impending arrangement with the young Kazekage. Nomasaki could feel herself tremble as she stood on the high orange dunes watching her comrades from afar.

Standing as the warm winds of the desert blew past, she gazed out towards the horizon of orange and dimming yellow. Sand coated everything as far as her eyes could see. Although used to the climate, her heart still ached for the cold of her mountains. She would return in a heartbeat if she could – but there was no home to turn back to. Somewhere in the village behind her, _that estranged man_ lived – or once lived, she reminded herself. The mention of his existence in her thoughts saddened her and filled her with rage all at once. The more she gazed out into the sands, the more she was convinced she would find him. All she could see were mirages and sandstorms if she focused too far on the horizon, Temari would tell her time and time again, never once asking why she was staring out into the desert in the first place.

No one did, and she thought it was for the best.

Feeling a familiar chakra pause beside her from behind, she heard the wolf's paws sink upon the sand at the surface. Towering at near seven feet at the shoulder, Hanone stood at her side, his beastly yellow eyes following her blank gaze into the hazy desert lands of death.

"You seem troubled," He grumbled. "What bothers you?"

"…My father," She spoke, her calm voice cutting through her teeth while her violet eyes appeared empty. "Are you sure he's still alive? That he's in these lands?"

A grunt passed through the wolf's jaws, his muzzle flaring slightly as he remembered the name of that accursed man. It was known since she was a child that Hanone hated all humans, but in time she grew to realize there were certain humans he despised above all else – her nameless father and Gaara, the jinchuriki. Despite being a human herself, Hanone refused to acknowledge her as such. As her guardian, he looked to her more as a student – or a 'pup', as he said once before.

Once his snarl escaped, his gaze on the desert lands narrowed while he kept his anger at bay. "The last thing I want is to see that foul-eyed bastard unless his head is resting between my jaws. With any luck, his life was claimed long ago… Maybe his bones rest in these sands? Perhaps his desert gods did him a mercy on part of your mother."

Her mother.

She felt her eyes grow heavy with the sobs that she silenced from her shinobi training over the last two years. Just a single mention of her late mother was enough to provoke such a reaction. How broken she was. Placing her katana into his sheath on her back, she closed her eyes and took a careful breath in silence. Opening her eyes, she glanced to her wolf.

"Hanone," She spoke. "We're done training for the day. Can I return you to your scroll?"

"Keh!" The wolf scoffed, licking his curled lips. As he watched her take out the aged and damaged scroll from her pack, he gave her a foreboding glare of caution. "If you meet with that tanuki-eyed bastard, keep your wits about you. You know what he is… he's not one to be taken lightly, even for a human."

Sadly, she averted her glance from his as she knelt, placing the scroll on the dunes.

"I know."


	14. Sowing the Seeds

**Chapter 14  
Sowing the Seeds**

* * *

Making her way towards the growing shadows of the grand estate, the dogs barked in her wake from the refuge of the street side.

Barring their teeth with their tails curled between their legs, the dogs huffed and yelped towards her while she walked down the main road of the village. Nomasaki hated dogs. Hate was a strong word, but she was nonetheless annoyed by their incessant yaps and growling. Suna was full of stray dogs, feeding on scraps of meat from the butchers, chasing each other in feral packs, and following around the children of the alleyways who would play with them. Her sense of smell was not the greatest of her senses, but the wolf blood within her stirred at the scent of dog whenever it was lingering. It made her gut twist, her want to bark back rising as she felt her canines grow within her jaws.

She was always careful not to change form while out in the open, keeping her wolfishness at bay and practicing her best behavior when she could. As the villagers still kept their wits about the purple-eyed foreigner, she never wanted to give them another reason to shun or fear her. Keeping quiet and appearing as human as possible was her best bet – but the dogs were definitely pushing her patience.

Dressed in a casual blue kimono with narrow sleeves of white, Nomasaki met the questioning glances of the guards who stood outside the mansion's gates. Their faces were as hard as iron, aged by the sands and their years of service. They did not seem pleased to have the foreigner at their steps.

"Excuse me," She started, pausing after reaching the first step. "I was summoned."

"By who?" One of them questioned, narrowing their dark eyes. "Off with you – no one except those with clearance are permitted inside. Now, be on your way."

"Kazekage-sama summoned me," She answered, cautiously. "I'm to meet him at his office."

The other guard laughed airily. "Kazekage-sama summoned you, eh? Best one I've heard all day, I'll tell you that!"

"Listen, girl -,"

The guard closest to her glared into her timid eyes, boring into the purple that flecked them. She noticed his grip upon his spear tightened, reminding her she arrived with no weapons of her own. All she had was the dress at her back – no tools, nothing. They probably thought she was a clueless civilian, she pondered, or an enemy in disguise. A wolf in sheep's clothing.

"It's best that you be on your way. We don't want any trouble, now if you'd step aside -,"

"There you are!" Temari entered from behind the gates. "I was worried you lost your way."

Startled slightly, the guards directed their attention to her. Straightening their arms at their sides firmly, they tapped the posts of their spears off the marble at their feet. "Temari-sama!"

"She's with me." Turning to Nomasaki, she noted her timid nature in her glance. Although her eyes were stern, Temari gave her a light smile to assure her. "This way, Nomasaki – I'll show you to him. We shouldn't be keeping Gaara waiting."

"Y-Yes," Nomasaki nodded. "Sorry, Temari-senpai."

Following her as the guards stepped aside to let them pass, she entered the vast confines of the Kazekage's mansion one step at a time.

She remembered she was at the mansion once before when she received her chunin certification, but she seldom remembered her way through its aged and winding corridors. The building was as massive inside as it was outside, with nearly ten floors filled with chambers for every shinobi faction to gather, the grand council chambers, libraries, archives, and the like, with the top floor reserved for the Kazekage's residence and office. Without Temari leading the way, she was certain she would get lost on her own. Not even the detection of Gaara's chakra could lead her to him through its weaving halls and staircases. The mansion was like a labyrinth to her.

Nearly every doorway they walked past had guards standing by. As they walked, Temari mentioned the changing times of the village. With Gaara receiving the nomination of Fifth Kazekage, the time was ripening for the numerous assassins who lurked in the shadows to strike. No one could be too careful, she said, they even had to investigate their own council for dissidents following his imminent reign. Even so, the sight of armed guards with spears made Nomasaki uneasy. She was a shinobi, she had to remind herself, she had to be unafraid. As she felt Gaara's chakra become closer, staying unafraid was proving to be challenging. She could feel the nervousness pound in her chest, and the fact they have not seen each other in close to a year made the feeling worse.

"This is where we part ways,"

Flinching, Nomasaki turned to her. "You're not… going in, too?"

"I have other duties I have to take care of," Temari answered, smiling at her nervous eyes. "You'll be fine on your own. Remember – you're a jonin. I'll be seeing you!"

"T-Temari-senpai -!"

With a smug smirk, Temari waved as she disappeared within the curves of the corridor. Now she was certain she would get lost when it came time to leave. Turning back towards the wooden door before her, she took a deep breath to calm herself from the chakra that was beyond the walls. He was her friend, she remembered, she had no reason to be nervous.

She was a shinobi.

The doorknob creaked as she let herself inside. Closing the door behind her, it shut firmly on its hinges, shuddering her arm from its noise. Turning towards his desk, she braced herself to meet his gaze. Surprising her, she was lucky. Standing before the window, Gaara stood with his back facing her, gazing out onto his village. Timidly, she entered the room further as Shukaku's chakra lingered upon the air. Hearing her footsteps come to a halt in the center of the room, the young Kazekage directed his attention towards her.

Meeting her timid expression, Gaara examined her meek appearance. It had been a year since they last properly seen each other, yet it felt as if they were meeting for the first time. They were both different and changed people. Surprising him, she was no longer the scrawny chunin he remembered from when he saw her last, but a calm young woman with the evidence of her shinobi training marked in her eyes. He surprised her as well, his height especially. He was taller than she last remembered, the mocking whispers of her comrades who once called him short seemed foolish to her now. He was even taller than her, noticing that she had to look up at him as he approached closer. As always, she felt as though he could read her through the mere glance of his ringed-eyes – but the familiar calm was still within them, which relieved her.

"Nomasaki," He greeted, pausing before her. "It's been a while. It's good to see you."

"Likewise," "She nodded, smiling lightly. "I suppose I should say congratulations on your appointment as Kazekage. I know how much that means to you and I'm… happy for you."

Nodding back, a smile formed on his lips. It was genuine, warmed by her words. "Thank you, Nomasaki. I understand you're a jonin now, Temari told me of your training."

"Oh," That took her off guard, her timid nature instantly found its way back to her expression. Shyly, she averted her eyes. "Yeah, that surprised me as well."

She was not meant to be a jonin, she reminded herself. She did not yet harness the skill, yet the higher-ups persisted. Her gut wrenched from the mere thought. Looking back to him, she curiously peered into his pupil-less turquoise eyes that watched her every movement carefully. Maybe he could not help his intruding glance, she thought to herself – intruding was not his intention.

"Gaara – Gaara-sama," She pushed herself, cautiously. "May I ask why I was summoned?"

Understanding, he nodded subtly, looking at her with an expression stoic and slate-like. It was the face of a kage - not a young man - that was looking down at her, startling her from the difference in their strengths. He had grown not just in power but in wisdom, she could see it clearly within his eyes.

"As you're aware, I was recently appointed as the new Fifth Kazekage." He said. "I will be taking office in the coming days… but before I do that, I need an assistant. Someone loyal and trustworthy, someone who has abilities that could be of great benefit… a sober second thought. I am asking that you be my assistant, Nomasaki."

Her heart stopped.

"Your assistant?" She repeated, stunned. "Forgive me – but I've only been promoted to jonin a week ago. My strength isn't exactly that great compared to the others -,"

"It has nothing to do with strength, but it has everything to do with trust." Gaara explained, drawing in her surprised eyes. "You put your trust in me when I shared my dream to you of becoming Kazekage… now I'm putting my trust in you to support me as I protect the village as its central pillar."

Warmed, she nodded. "I can't say no then, can I?" Meeting his eyes, she smiled. "As a kunoichi of Sunagakure, I accept your proposal, Gaara-sama."

Relieved, he found himself smiling back. How strange, he thought, she always provoked such a friendly reaction. At least with her by his side, he need not worry about dissidents and their schemes. She could find them with her senses – and stand by as a friend to help him with whatever was troubling him. He had chosen wisely.

"Thank you," He nodded back. "As my assistant, you'll be tasked with helping me with my day-to-day operations as the Kazekage, and anything the Suna Council directs. You will act as my proxy." When he finished, his expression became stoic again – leader-like and unmoving. "Do you have any further questions?"

Nervously, she shook her head, giving a friendly but timid smile as she stood across from him in the sheltered room – feeling every fiber of his chakra surrounding her as she looked at the burgundy of his shirt and the purple flak jacket secured over it, examining the needlework of its seams.

"N-No, everything was clear, Gaara." Jolting, she realized she made a fatal mistake in addressing him, and on her first day of work, too. "O-Oh, I-I mean…-!" Flustered, she tried her best to correct her mistake, bowing her head to him slightly. "G-Gaara-sama - I'm sorry, please forgive me."

"Don't worry about honorifics." He assured. "I don't expect you to be formal, being that we knew each other since we were genin. You can address me as you always have."

Looking up to him, she nodded, smiling at his response in relief. "Y-Yes, sir."

Slightly surprising her for a moment, he stepped closer towards her in the room – standing only inches apart from each other – the closest he ever was towards her. "Before you take your oath as my assistant," He began. "I must ask something of you."

"What is it?"

The young Kazekage locked eyes with her in a serious exchange as he stood before her, his ringed tanuki-like eyes gazing into hers unwavering in nature. Nervousness entering her glance as she looked up to him, she could feel the chakra of his tailed-beast wrap itself around her – although that was not his intention, nor was he aware of the fear she felt in her senses from its presence.

"If I do anything out of line... If I make a decision that puts the very existence of Suna in jeopardy," He started. "I expect you to speak out and stop me… even if that means to strike me down, if things take a turn."

Surprised, her eyes of lilac widened from his request fearfully. Nervously, she gulped from the thought.

"Can I trust you with that?"

Swallowing her emotions and nervousness, she remembered her duties as a shinobi, a newly-appointed jonin.

 _As a shinobi, one's duty is to the mission at hand – and one must complete their mission above all else. A shinobi must not show their emotions at all costs – and a shinobi must_ _never_ _show weakness._

That was the sacrifice all shinobi must make to survive and allow their villages to prosper. Killing her emotions was a struggle to become the kunoichi who stood before him in that chamber, and she was barely able to do just that. Changing from the meek and timid girl from the mountains was no easy task, but with her duty she donned the mask of a controlled, precise, and obedient kunoichi of Suna. She was still her – and she still clung to her emotions, nonetheless, hiding her weakness from her superiors as she was able. Would Gaara care if she clung to such things? She hoped he would be at least understanding. Knowing full well their shared history - from him saving her life twice to her intrigue and fear of his chakra – even to him injuring her by accident those times - she honored his request despite her fears.

"Yes." She nodded, obediently. After a moment of shared silence, she averted her glance. Her light-hearted and friendly nature poked through the holes of her timid exterior, pushing herself to meet his eyes again. "Although, it won't come to that. I have faith in your judgement, but if you do anything out of line… I will be sure to speak out."

"Is that so?"

Nervously, with a determined glint to her lilac eyes, she nodded, standing by her answer to his hardened question. Gazing into her eyes, he saw the of her expression, reading what her eyes conveyed to him. She was indeed serious. Acknowledging her answer, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Thank you, Nomasaki."

Softly, she smiled back at him, their bond as Kazekage and assistant solidified. Startling her, the air between them suddenly grew dark and heavy with carnage. Before she knew it, her vision turned black.

Darkness was all that she could see.

* * *

" _Hmph! You're going soft, as I feared." A low growl rumbled. "You're making a big mistake, boy."_

 _Slowly, her eyes flickered as she became drawn to the scarce light that reflected upon the pool of water. Everything was so dark, so dim, and so unknown. Standing on her wobbly legs, she felt that same burgeoning chakra exert its threatening presence towards her. Where on earth was she? Surprisingly, as she walked above the rippling pool, she did not plunge down to the waters from the first step. Was it a genjutsu? If so – why would Gaara think to do of such a thing? Perhaps she was being tested, she thought – she hoped._

 _Her fears were suddenly realized as she approached closer._

 _Towering above the dark lit pool was Shukaku, arching itself over its jinchuriki as it spoke through its jagged jaws of sand and death. Gaara stood before the beast, standing firm in his stance with his expression calm and stern. She felt her heart pound through her chest as she took in every ounce of its chakra. It was so close – too close. She wanted to scream from how frightened she was, her instincts telling her to run as fast and as far as she could. But there was nowhere for her to go. She was trapped in that pit of darkness._

" _I already told you, Shukaku – this does not concern you." Gaara spoke, narrowing his eyes towards his tailed-beast. "You have to -,"_

 _Shukaku sensed her._

 _Whipping its tail as it turned its sand-covered body towards her, the tanuki's brow furrowed and its vicious jaws gnashed instantly as it sensed her in the cool air. The water shook and rippled violently from its weight, thrashing under them. Nomasaki fell to her knees above the restless waters, trembling before the gigantic monster and its winds of fury._

" _I told you there was a wolf at your door!" Shukaku roared. "What the hell are you doing here?! Away with you!"_

 _Shocked, Gaara turned around to see her on the waters behind. Her eyes were wide with fear, panicked by the sight of the tailed-beast. His thoughts raced with many questions, all of them scrambling for a logical answer as to why the strange-eyed girl was within his psyche. It was a realm where only he and Shukaku could enter – no one else, whether it be man or monster._

" _Nomasaki?! How did you -?!"_

" _What is this -?!" She stammered, frantically. Her panicked eyes were locked upon the tanuki, unmoving. "Where am I – what is place -?!"_

 _Watching her tremble, he then realized she had no idea how she appeared either. How did she was a question she desperately wanted an answer to – so she could escape and run from the chakra that was trying to suffocate her in the winds. Shukaku lurched closer, paying no mind to its jinchuriki._

" _Gaara, you know I'll have to kill her!" The beast bellowed, sending its sands towards her. "She's given me no choice – she invaded MY realm!"_

 _Before she could react, she was clutched in the sweeping sands. Wrapping around her, the sands crept closer up her torso, making its way to her chest by the time Gaara stepped in. Reaching out, he prepared his stance against the beast, his eyes narrowed in anger._

" _No -!" He shouted. "Stop, Shukaku -!"_

 _She could feel the sand tighten around her throat, choking her as her vision began to darken._

* * *

She gasped for breath, clutching her throat as she stepped backward.

Stunned and speechless, Gaara stood with his back to his desk, his hand clasping his sweat-drenched forehead. His heart was still pounding as his breaths calmed, shaken by how close his timing was. If he had not have ended the link between himself and Shukaku, there was no telling what would have happened to her. It was a great risk to have taken, especially against someone as impatient and brute as his tailed-beast.

Collecting herself, Nomasaki slowly retracted her shaking fingers from her throat, clutching her hands into her chest. Her eyes were still wide and frantic, her gaze locked upon the floor. She was so close to death she could sense it.

"What… just happened…?" She breathed, looking up to him. "Where was that place?"

"My seal… That's where we were, my psyche." Gaara met her eyes, bewildered. "How did you enter? No one except myself can speak with Shukaku in that realm."

Gazing down at her shivering fingers before her, her eyes desperately sought an answer – but none came. "I… don't know. I suddenly felt – Shukaku's chakra and I… I don't know exactly how it happened, but next thing I knew – it was so dark -,"

A person entered the office chambers, shuffling their way through the old wooden door as it creaked in entrance. Drawing both of their attentions, they saw an elder of the council step forth, his expression aged and hardened like iron. Nomasaki recognized the man instantly from the dark of his eyes – and they paid no mind to her. Kenzō, the man who threatened her with his tracker-nin after she became a chunin of Sunagakure. He was not threatening her within the office, his eyes only focusing on the burgundy-clad young man with the ringed-eyes. He was putting on a feeble mask, as if he were another person entirely. Such a troubling fellow, she thought to herself, withdrawing her gaze from him.

"With all due respect, Kazekage-sama," Kenzō started. "We must begin the details of your impending inauguration." Catching wind of the foreigner, he gave her a calm glance – but the darkness was still visible to her from his vile eyes. "Who's this?"

"Nomasaki of the Yamamori clan," Gaara answered, calm and stoic. "She will be working as my assistant during my reign as Kazekage." Turning towards her, he gestured towards the weasel-faced elder. "This is Kenzō-sama, he was one of my father's principal advisors."

Masking her nervousness, she gave a subtle bow. "Nice to meet you… sir."

Meeting her slightly narrowed eyes, Kenzō gave a glare as a rebuttal. Boring through her strange lilac eyes, he could see the uncertainty and fear that lingered behind them. She may have been good at hiding how she felt from the outside, but her eyes gave everything away. He could see it painted clearly amongst their violet hue.

"Your eyes… the blood of an outsider flows strong…" Kenzō muttered to himself. Turning to Gaara, his expression eased. Appearing calm and dignified, as any other senior elder of the council. He was the master of faces, and he knew it. "Kazekage-sama, allow me to escort your assistant from the estate. The day has grown tired."

"Alright," Gaara nodded, watching them leave with a questioning glance. When the door closed behind them, he had to admit that something did not feel entirely right. Shukaku for once seemed to agree, twisting inside him as the scarce sunlight faded from the window.

* * *

Holding her tongue, she stood silently before the stern-faced elder before her within the darkened chambers.

Sitting at the worn table across from her, Kenzō gave her a coy grin as he rested his turban-covered head upon his balled fist. His expression made her uneasy. As she stood in that room with him, she could feel her instincts creep into her mind – telling her to flee. She was essentially a sitting duck for the taking. The tracker-nin who pledged their allegiance to him were many and hidden from her view, but she should definitely sense them nearby, watching every move she made.

Their chakra was everywhere.

"You can sit," He spoke from the shadows. "Sit, outsider - or better yet… sit, wolf."

Irking her, she swallowed her trembling breaths as she edged forward. With a creak, she pulled the wooden chair out for her to sit upon, its worn feet scrapping against the clay floor as she moved herself closer to the wide table.

"I never expected you to do _that_ ," He jested. "Surely, me taking an interest in you was the biggest stroke of luck the dead gods of these deserts have thrust upon me."

He knew what happened, she realized. He knew.

She was still unable to figure out how she entered that place, but deep down she thought her wolf's blood had something to do with it. She could sense all chakra, whether it be human or beast – and she was also drawn to it. Shukaku could have lured her, but maybe she overstepped her bounds and forced herself through by accident. Either way, she was determined to never let that happen again. She was already afraid of the one-tail enough.

His eyes narrowed upon her. "I take it you remember my message?"

"Y-Yes, sir…" She brought herself to reply. "What was it you wanted of me?"

"You're straight to the point… perhaps I won't despise asking of your service after all." He sneered, the glint of his dark eyes visible through the shadows. "You pose a great risk to Sunagakure… You're an outsider from another land, but you also hold sensory abilities that can benefit the higher-ups such as myself… The current Kazekage is also a risk, with an unstable chakra reserve and a tailed-beast that refuses to stay silent. You must know what I'm talking about, yes?"

"Shukaku," She said quietly, looking down solemnly. "Kazekage-sama, he… is a jinchuriki -,"

"He is an abomination."

Her instincts screaming at her to leave, she sat up from her wooden chair and started for the door. Hearing Kenzō's chair creak behind her, she could sense his chakra approach from behind. Pausing where she stood within the broken shadows of the chamber, she could feel his menacing presence surround her without a single sound. Pacing around her with hands folded behind his back, the councilman examined her shivering appearance with delight and curiosity.

"You must know where I'm getting at?"

Piecing the puzzle together in her mind, her fingers trembled at her sides while her breath struggled to form a response. His chakra was gnawing at hers as he continued to peer into her vulnerable state – he was clearly enjoying himself.

"You may be his assistant... but you are also a tool for the council to use as we see fit. Do not forget – you are a jonin of Suna with duties to fulfill for the sake of the village." He began, while he circled her like a vulture. "Gaara is the son of the Fourth Kazekage, however – his status as a jinchuriki and both the Fifth Kazekage may place our village into great peril if he were to lose control and Shukaku run amok. Thousands of lives could be at stake… including yours,"

Chilling her instantly, she felt his palms grasp her shoulders from behind. Averting her gaze from his bitterly, she could still feel his foul breath upon her neck as he uttered his words of treason. Flinching, she refused to be near but his forceful hold forbade her escape.

"You don't want to die, do you? Of course… if you decline this generous offer, you might be lucky enough to be exiled into the Demon Desert where the vultures will finish you off from the thirst and starvation… or an execution might be in order."

Grabbing her throat, the councilman grinned from under the shadows as his fingers pressed into her shivering neck. Just from his touch, she felt as if it were getting difficult for her to breathe. Desperately, she tried to keep her wolfishness at bay before lashing out at him. Her canines were already growing within her jaws, ready to lunge out in retaliation.

"Your task is to monitor the Kazekage's activity and report all instances to me. You must tail him after hours and at all costs… you must not be seen. And if he suspects anything…-," His grip on her throat tightened. "…kill him."

Her chest sank as the words entered her mind, her purple eyes widened from the sound of the command. Kill him, she thought – but why? The mere thought of it sent shivers of fear and defiance down her spine. Gaara was someone she considered close. They shared a similar pain – loneliness – and he saw through the heavy exterior that the name of her clan bore onto her. From the beginning, she knew she could trust him.

Why betray him in such a vile way?

As Kenzō released her from his grip and returned towards his seat at the table, she clasped her throat with her palms as she refused to turn to face him. As her widened eyes flickered around her as she stood, the breath returned to her as she rapidly gathered all the thoughts that were burgeoning her shoulders. She had no choice – and Kenzō knew it. If she refused, she would die. If she agreed, Gaara could die – unless he never found out, that is – and that was her final gleaming hope. No, she thought, never.

"Why are you doing this?" She pressed, hurt. "Why should I -?"

"Don't you want to know who your father is?"

Shocked, she felt her body become frozen where she stood. Her father. The mere mention of _that man_ sent a shiver through her, her mind struggling to grapple with how the councilman knew it all. The foreigner had a Suna father, a father that she was yet to find. The tracker-nin who follow him have eyes and ears that went unseen throughout the village – _she should have known better_. Appalled, her eyes widened towards his, watching his foul expression curl into intrigue.

"Simple thing, you are. That's right – I can track him down for you… I can tell by that pain shielded behind your eyes that you hold a great deal of hatred for that man. If you do what I ask, then I will reunite you with that estranged father of yours." A grin etched itself upon his lips, eyeing her narrowing lilac eyes with amusement. "It must be a tragic thing, really… not knowing who he is yet you have one of the greatest sensory abilities running through your veins. He could be under your very nose and you not know a thing."

His words struck her.

He was right.

Whether it was from the rage and hurt masked behind her nervous eyes or his tracker-nin that lurked beyond the chamber, Kenzō looked at her in a way that made him realize he won the game. She was powerless to him and her weakened heart.

"How long… will this mission continue, sir?" Her voice quivered, trying to sound calm.

"As long as Shukaku remains a threat to our way of life… your assignment will not end."

Bringing herself to face him directly, she met his sneering glare from across the darkened chamber. Trembling still, she gave a subtle bow.

"...I will do as the Suna Council asks of me."

* * *

 _ **Notes** :_ The name of Kenzō (建造) can be translated to "Build" (建) and "Create" (造) in Japanese. His name is also derived from the Japanese Emperor Kenzō, who was the 23rd emperor of Japan from 485 to 487 CE.


	15. A Murder of Crows

**Chapter 15  
A Murder of Crows**

* * *

Even as the night crept onward, the words Kenzō whispered in her ear tormented her.

Her eyes locked absently on the sand-ridden earth, she paid no mind to the happenings around her, continuing on towards the shelter of her apartment and awaiting its warm and unmade bed. In the last twenty-four hours, she sold her soul for the sake of duty – and the chance to see her forgotten and vanished father. But at what cost? She was to be Gaara's assistant as well as the key to his undoing. She was his spy. The thought twisted into the pits of her stomach, realizing the hole she dug herself into. She had only just become a jonin – appointed as the new Kazekage's assistant – and now she was tasked with repaying her 'debt' to that dissident in the council robes.

If she were brave, she would have refused – but Kenzō had her right where he wanted her. She was helpless against him, his shadows too strong for her to escape their unknown eyes and ears. Already she was worrying about Gaara. Meeting him again for the first time in what seemed ages should have been a happy occasion for her, but now the meeting only brought her sorrow and regret. If only he asked someone else, she thought to herself painstakingly, if only she was able to live a normal life. But could she? Becoming a deserter of the village meant that she would be classified as a missing-nin, a 'rogue' ninja. She would then be hunted for bounty by the tracker-nin and possibly the ANBU as well. To make her case worse, she had a rare kekkei genkai – the wolf's blood circulated within her veins, the Ōkamitoko of the Yamamori clan.

If she were to leave now, she was as good as dead.

 _Damn them_ , she thought - _damn them, both_.

Reaching the crossroads towards her apartment's blackened alleyway, she felt a presence stumble in front of her from a passing sake bar. Red-faced and incoherent, two young men blocked her path with their drunken misadventure. From the sounds of it, they were seemingly kicked out of the shop, the booming voice of the shopkeeper threatening to summon the village authorities. Forcing her to come to a stop, the two men towered over her petite stature with grinning red faces as the scent of cheap alcohol stuck to their flak jackets.

"Where do you think you're going?" One of them asked, leaning too close for comfort. "It's dark out, why are you by yourself?"

"Home." Nomasaki forced herself to say. "I'm going home."

The sight of them struck an unfamiliar fear within her. She could not only smell the alcohol, but she could sense their wandering glances. Their glossy eyes were looking her over smugly from head to toe, inching themselves closer to her cautious stance of timid fear. Never had she felt so intruded upon. One of them started to laugh, prompting her to hold a hand close to her chest to keep calm.

"From behind I took you for a boy… and here I see a girl!" The man awed, his words slurring. "How old are you, girl? Old enough to join us for a drink?"

She could feel her skin crawl. They were certainly foul men, she thought. In her near-sixteen years of life, she was luckily able to avoid any unwanted glances or intrusions to her sexuality – but that time had come to pass. Unlike her Suna shinobi attire and flak jacket that concealed her from the eyes of men, her simple kimono-like dress made her blossoming femininity more obvious. Although modest, the subtle shape of her small breasts and hips could still be seen from outside the fabric. She was boyish, she remembered – she was nothing to be sexualized – and she was underage. Why were they bothering her? Was it just her unfortunate luck of walking home the wrong path – or were they just predatory men? She went with both.

"That's the foreigner, the wolf-girl." One of the drunkards said to the other, gesturing a wobbly finger towards her. "Just look at her strange eyes!"

"I have to admit," The other sneered, leaning closer. "For a foreigner, you're pretty cute."

Backing away, she tried to inch herself closer to the shadows of the alley. Drunkenly, the man closest to her tried to follow her, moving his body sideways to deter her from leaving. It frightened her to think that he might try to touch her. No, she thought to herself - she had to do _something_. At the back of her mind, she wished it was just the ones who bullied her those years ago, the ones who called her an inbred. And Gaara came to stop them. Her nervous eyes narrowed towards them, she pushed herself to grow brave. She was a wolf, she remembered, and wolves devour fear.

"Stop it, now. You're scaring her."

"Ah, come on!" The closer one grinned. "I think she's cute when she's scared."

"Please leave me alone," She said once more, her eyes growing stern. Hearing her own voice clearly, she pushed her fear aside. "I just want to go home."

"Want us to walk you there?" The other inched closer, his hand reaching out. "The streets of Suna are dangerous at night, a young girl like you could be -,"

A growl suddenly ripped out from the darkness behind where she stood. Keeping her expression calm and eyes unbroken, Hanone's monstrous head appeared above her. His muzzle was snarling towards them, lips curled and teeth barred while his beastly yellow eyes appeared as if daggers. Towering over his master, the great white wolf snapped towards the drunken fools. One of the drunkards fell onto his rear, trembling like a leaf in the winds.

"I have it handled on my own, thanks." She said, her expression unmoving. "Now leave."

"A w-w-wolf!?" One scrambled, lifting his fallen friend onto his feet. "Let's get out of here!"

Within a matter of seconds, the two drunken men ran off into the moonlit streets. As she watched the backs of their flak jackets disappear, she could hear one yell to the village guards, the other to the ANBU. The ANBU would be fools to help them – if anything, they should be helping _her_.

Stepping forward, Hanone paused beside her. His muzzle was faintly snarling still as his black claws dug into the earth as he witnessed their escape. "Want me to hunt them?"

"They're drunkards, Hanone." She replied, looking up to him with relief in her eyes. He had never failed to protect her, she reminded herself – she was forever in his debt. "Best to just leave them be. We can let the village guards deal with them."

As she sensed an approaching presence on the winds, Hanone arched his back in fury, barring his fanged muzzle while his tail prickled in preparation to strike. Placing a hand on his coarse white fur, she tried to calm him – and also herself. She had enough 'excitement' for one night, she thought, eager to return to the safety of her home.

"Should I hunt _these_ ones?" Hanone growled. "They're getting close…!"

"No," She answered, scanning the darkened and empty street before them with careful eyes. "But keep up your guard."

Soon after she spoke, the shadows of two shinobi leapt down from the rooftops before them. Standing, she could clearly see the shapes and carvings of their porcelain masks. Tracker-nin – Kenzō's men. _Damn him_ , she thought, _damn him to hell_ …

Out into the glowing moonlight that danced in the skies of blackened night, the faces of their shrouds became clear to her. Owl and fox – those two she remembered clearly from the night she was cornered. Frail, afraid, and helpless, the tracker-nin sent by Kenzō found her. Trapped her. She clung to that false sense of freedom as tightly as she could, and she felt as if she were already being stripped of it after barely two years of her new life. They were not doing it from the bottom of their hearts, that was for certain.

They wanted _her_.

They wanted her kekkei genkai.

And they wanted Gaara dead.

 _Damn them all_ , she thought, her eyes narrowing as they stepped closer. Pausing before her, the eerie carvings of their animal masks sent a chill through her. Ripping a snarl through his vicious jaws, Hanone took one step closer as his master's hand tried to keep him at bay. Surprising her, the tracker-nin were unmoved by the large wolf. They were the first, then, she thought – but they should know they would be the last. The silence of the night air was broken by her wolf's snarling, his fangs gleaming in the moonlight as he fantasized about their heads within his jaws.

"Calm your pet, outsider." The vulpine-masked one said. Tojiru, she remembered was his name. "Or better yet – leash him."

"Why you…!" Hanone fumed, his white fur prickling down his back as he prepared to lunge. "I'll break through that mask with one bite, _you pathetic human_ …!"

"Hanone," Nomasaki calmed, her expression stern and unmoving. "Please,"

Taken aback, the beast grunted through its flared nostrils, easing its stance as it silently growled beside her. It would not take its eyes off the tracker-nin for a mere second, the wolf's beastly yellow eyes boring into their animal shrouds. Barking under his breath, he leapt onto the rooftops, leaving the scene in a flash of furious white.

"We understand that Kenzō-sama has made his intentions clear to you," The owl-masked one spoke. "Is that correct?"

"Yes," She nodded, narrowing her glance towards them. "What of it?"

Silently, they handed her a sealed scroll. Taking it from their palm, they disappeared into the shadows within an instant. Taking refuge in the darkness, she opened the parchment to read their message. Her eyes narrowing in suspicion, her fingers trembled on its paper – unsure of what to make of its contents.

"By order of Kenzō-sama, you're being moved from standard jonin training to the ranks of the Sunagakure Tracking Unit," Owl-face said, their tone cool and crisp as the night winds. "Tomorrow, you will embark to the outskirts of the Demon Desert and meet with our leader, Commander Moro. He will decide if you're worthy enough a shinobi to enter our ranks… and you will be able to serve Kenzō-sama as the tool he desires."

She furrowed her brow, suspiciously. "But what about -?"

"Kazekage-sama knows nothing," Tojiru interrupted. "And he should _know_ nothing of this. If you reveal any of Kenzō-sama's plans, you will have your head mounted on a spike! Us or him - that's for justice to decide -,"

"Tojiru!" The owl-face snapped. "Enough!"

"She should know… _we don't take kindly to traitors_."

The glare of his darkened eyes through the slits of his mask haunted her, chilling her from his mere glance that night. She did not know who was worse – him or his master.

"You will continue your duties as his assistant," The owl spoke to her, calmly. "But you will answer first to the call of Kenzō-sama. Is that clear?"

Meeting his eerie owl visage, she felt the shadows surrounding her. They had her - hook, line and sinker. She had a choice – accept and see her father while Gaara may die – or decline and die a long painful death in the desert sands with the buzzards. She had a kunai to her throat since she arrived in Suna, it seemed – and now it was too late to turn back. She was as good as caged in their eyes.

The bastards had their wolf.

"Yes," She answered, her eyes broken.

"I wonder if Moro-sama will accept you…" Tojiru mused. "He's a scorch-release user, so make sure you don't piss him off… much. Unless you want to be burned to a crisp."

His words left ashes on her tongue.

 _Damn him, most of all_ – she thought to herself.

When the masked-men left, she felt empty. If only the drunkards were her only trouble walking home, she lamented. A restless night was ahead of her, that was for certain. Making her way into the shadows of the alleyway, she could sense Hanone on the winds.

She should have let him attack, she thought…

* * *

As dawn broke...

She could feel the blinding sun strike her forehead protector, already the rays were scorching hot. Wearing her Suna flak jacket and black shinobi attire, she stood beside a large masked man upon a gorge in the vast desert, overlooking the site of a misguided voyager. The man was a giant to her, six feet tall and all muscle underneath the boiled black leather he wore over his clothes. A notorious figure in Suna that dwelled within the shadows, Moro was the respected and feared commander of the Suna Tracking Unit. Having served Suna for near thirty years, Moro was a man hardened by the shinobi code and the harshness of the desert. Among the few to have a kekkei genkai in Sunagakure, he was one of the only surviving scorch-release shinobi known to inhabit the village's walls. Even as she stood by him, the warning Tojiru gave her rang true.

She could tell just by the feel of his chakra how much of a feared and skilled opponent he was - he was as unbroken as iron.

Shuffled amongst the ranks to such an organization, to her it felt more like a death sentence. Much like the Sunagakure ANBU, the tracker-nin worked within the shadows of the village to protect Suna's authority – the only difference between the two being that tracker-nin specialized in manhunting and pursuing missing-nin, concealed by animalistic porcelain masks. In contrast, the Suna ANBU maintained the peace by patrolling the village limits and being assigned S-rank missions on the weekly – wearing turban-like face coverings that left only the glint of their eyes visible to their enemies.

If she were to have had the fate of staying in her mountainous homeland of ice, she would have no such sentence.

The only sentence that awaited those in Yama who made the shinobi oath was border patrol, guarding the base of the mountain from an invasion that would never come. Pledging their service for the prime of their lives, the men who swore their honor to protect their settlement seldom left their posts - and women were not welcome amongst their ranks. Still, the women of Yama who dreamed of becoming kunoichi were allowed to practice their ninjutsu - but all had to abandon their hopes for servitude. Many became the teachers, the healers, and the foreseers, the name 'kunoichi' worn proudly amongst them. Her mother was never such a woman to her knowledge. Mikomi of the Yamamori was a just that - her mother. Nomasaki wondered if she would have become a kunoichi after all, or if she would have remained the keeper of her ancient clan's homestead - or a farmer living a simple and quaint life.

The fate that lay before her now was neither simple nor quaint.

It was marked with death.

Cawing and squawking, dozens of crows flocked to the decaying corpse – their feathers blanketing the ground in a black shroud of death. Catching the stench of rotting flesh in the air, she covered her nose with her elbow – gathering all her strength to not become physically sick.

"Take it in, girl."

Moro finally spoke, his voice husky and deep as he looked upon the corpse from above. Jolting her for a moment, she turned to him. Lifting his demon-carved mask from his face, it revealed an expression hardened by scars and burns. A ghastly visage, nearly more fearful than the grinning demon that was his mask. She felt herself flinch from the sight.

"This is your future. Anyone who swears the oath of shinobi will inevitably become food for crows. Death waits for no man… although this man was a criminal, so his death was imminent."

Holding back her gag reflex, she hesitantly moved her arm back to her side, her brow furrowing in disgust of the stench. Although her only heightened sense from being a wolf was her chakra detection, she was also sensitive to certain smells. Seeing the scars and burns upon his face was bad enough, but the scent of rotting flesh was far worse than she could have imagined. Attempting to shield her disgust, she tried a straight face and nodded.

"Y-Yes, sir."

"I take it Kenzō-sama convinced you to join the ranks of us quite recently?" He asked, turning to her. "I've heard of a foreigner with a strange Kekkei Genkai arriving in Suna but I didn't think they would show up to our headquarters undetected. You are indeed something else… and an interesting find. What is your clan, outsider?"

"Yamamori, sir." She nodded. "From Yamagakure."

"Is that so?" Turning back to the crows in the gorge, his dark eyes narrowed. "You'll find yourself among our ranks as a rookie. The path ahead will be difficult… but being that you were also promoted to jonin recently, it shouldn't be an issue."

Facing towards her, he solidified his authority in the earth at his feet – standing his ground as his menacing creature-like mask bore through her. The demon was resting on the side of his face, unmasked but yet just as resemblance to humanity was near uncanny, chilling her. She wondered if she would have to wear a mask just as frightening.

"We also don't take kindly to traitors. We carry out our duties for the sake of Suna and its future… Any defiance from our commands and you will be persecuted faster than you can say 'wind'. Is that clear, outsider?"

" _We don't take kindly to traitors"_ … the same words that Tojiru spoke the night before.

As she met his dark gaze, she jolted from the sharpness of his words. Knowing full well she could not escape the fate that lay ahead for her, she swallowed her pride and gave a glance of stern understanding – her jonin training and experience shining through her glimmering violet eyes.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. I expect Kenzō-sama gave you that assignment to carry out, then?"

"Yes, he did."

Darkly chuckling to himself, he turned back towards the gorge and its remains – dismayed by her answer. "Damn him… he knows full well not to go over my head with these matters, but he does have seniority since he is an advisor. I see…" Turning to face her, he crossed his arms against the black leather that coated his chest. "The tracking unit tends to stay out of council-business but given the situation, it's best if it's kept top-secret. Remember, that we of the tracking unit serve Suna – we carry out our duties from the shadows of the outside. The ANBU serve Kazekage-sama and the village from the inside. I understand that you're his assistant as well, is that correct?"

Looking down for a moment in visible sadness, she averted her gaze. "Yes, sir." She replied, her voice low. "I was appointed after his nomination as the Fifth Kazekage… I started yesterday."

"I expect you to keep watch from the shadows. Make sure no one finds out about your assignment… especially Kazekage-sama. Kenzō-sama may have given you the order, but I will be monitoring your progress. We have our pride as the tracking unit, and that pride transcends some devious order from our head proxy. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now then," He spoke, walking down towards the mouth of the desert pit. Donning his demonic mask of porcelain, the black feathers of the crows painted the lands, thrashing about in frantic hordes as he approached closer. "We'll be disposing of his remains…"

Accepting her duties, she soon followed and stepped into the realm of death and black – the morning sun blinding the against the sands as the birds flew above them in cawing distress. Luckily, there were no buzzards.

She had no more room in her heart for bad omens.

* * *

As she stood behind the onlookers in the crowded plaza, their echoes of pride filled the air in loud bursts.

Donning the traditional white and blue garbs, Gaara stood before his people as the Fifth Kazekage for the first time. Above on the rooftop of the grand mansion in the heart of the village, he stood with his siblings and council - all of them for the village to see. It had been two agonizing years for Sunagakure. Pretending that the late Fourth Kazekage was still alive was proving a heavy burden on their shoulders, with deaths mounting from inexperienced shinobi filling the gaps left behind those who perished in the ill-fated Konoha Crush. Thankfully to the council's relief, a son of Rasa and descendant of the Kazekage bloodline was groomed and primed to fill that role. Standing before his village as its leader, as the council announced his name there were already cheers echoing it across the sea of people.

She was truly happy for him.

She heard him tell his dream to her back then, and now his dream had become reality.

Despite the fullness in her heart, she could not bring herself to look up at him anymore. The guilt that swelled in her chest was proving too much to bear, her eyes saddening as she took her leave. Disappearing into the back of the crowd, she shook off her skin and bounded towards her home as a wolf.

No one noticed her leaving, not a single onlooker - and she became one with the shadows...

* * *

While the moon rose into the desert sky that night, she could not find it in herself to sleep.

The day's events had sealed her fate – and there was no way out in sight. Although she was happy to have been appointed as Gaara's assistant, she regretted the decision as she would also have to act as a spy for the council – an act she seen as a betrayal. Trying to admit to herself that as a shinobi she must follow every duty to the end, she failed to see the benefit from following the command – but then she remembered the consequences.

Banishment and possible death.

As she sat on her small faded couch that night, she could feel sleep slowly make its way towards her. Suddenly, her senses jolted – alarming her and interrupting her scarce comfort. Following the chakra's presence, she grabbed a kunai from her pack and made her way towards the window – slowly stepping in its direction in preparation for attack. As she made it to the open windowsill, her eyes widened slightly. On the open cavity of her window was a box – no one was anywhere to be seen or detected. As if in an instant, the presence vanished. Putting aside the weapon, she took the box and closed the window. Slowly, she lifted it open. Her lilac eyes gleaming in shock, she grasped its contents and held it before the moonlight that coated her apartment. In her hands she held a white porcelain mask adorned in red markings – its likeness carved to that of a snarling wolf.

Its muzzle barred towards her as she held it, she looked into the eyes of her new identity.

* * *

 _ **Notes:** _Commander Moro's name was inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke (1998). His name (Moro, モロ) translates to "completely".

Tojiru, the vulpine-masked tracker-nin, carries another meaning. His name (Tojiru, 閉じる) means "to close".


	16. Silence

**_Notes:_ **Song recommendation / / "Faldne" by Danheim

* * *

 **Chapter 16  
** **Silence**

* * *

As the months passed, the dust began to settle as the isolated desert village grasped with their newfound sense of progressiveness.

While the Fifth Kazekage passed laws that undone the restrictions of the past, the elders on the Suna Council grimaced at the coming changes while the younger generations welcomed them with open arms. Despite the positive beginning to his leadership, there were many dissidents lurking within the shadows of the village and beyond – with his siblings snuffing out the would-be assassins before they had a moment to strike. Across the desert in the unknown regions of the world, the new threat of the Akatsuki was emerging.

Slowly but surely, new intel was reaching the village from the legendary Sannin of Konoha – Jiraiya.

All while the intel was being discussed and future precautions written, Nomasaki was at Gaara's side – notarizing everything and dutifully working as his assistant. Although born an outsider from a village in the far north and mistrusted by some of the elderly councilmen, Nomasaki was valued for her sensory abilities by the higher-ups – an asset that was highly valued for her closeness to the village leader and her secret espionage. Since Gaara's inauguration as the Fifth Kazekage, she made it her goal to fulfill her debt as best as she could.

That morning was unforgiving.

She silently accompanied the young Kazekage down the sunlit-filled corridors of the mansion while he was being relayed the council's business the senior advisor of the Suna Council – Kenzō, the grand conspirator. Despite the ongoing mission she was assigned, she had to pretend as if there was no prior introduction and continue on quietly – to not stir suspicion from the Fifth Kazekage, their target. Averting her glance from Kenzō as she walked closely behind, she kept her focus onto her clipboard and pen held against her chest.

Fear propelled her to stay silent.

"As such, we expect it would be wise to consult the council as soon as Jiraiya-sama relays Suna his next round of intel on the Akatsuki," Kenzō continued, his hands folded behind his back as he walked alongside the young leader. "Kazekage-sama, I suspect the intel should arrive within the coming days."

"Very well," Gaara nodded, from under the shade of his shrouded hat. "Thank you for your input, Kenzō-sama." Turning towards his assistant who followed close behind in silence, he gave her a calm glance from under the shadows of his hat. "Nomasaki, can you schedule in a meeting with the Suna Council?"

Catching her attention, she nodded at him. "Yes, sir."

While Kenzō continued on his pace, he grimaced to himself as he glared ahead into the winding hallway. "What's more is that with the Akatsuki on the move, it would be best to prepare for an ambush. They do seek the one-tail, well… according to our scattered reports we already received from the Sannin over the last two years." Turning to the robe-clad Kazekage, he narrowed his glance towards him – meeting his gaze. "Gaara-sama, you should have a contingency plan in place in the scenario that the Akatsuki attack Suna–,"

Slightly surprising him, Gaara paused. With a stoic expression, he locked eyes with the scheming councilman. "Kenzō-sama, I would like to place ANBU on the lookout for any intruders along the village limits from now until further notice." He commanded, calmly. "Captain Yura can assist you in that endeavor, I assume?" Stunned, Kenzō bit his lip in hidden frustration – hoping that his leader's response would have been different. "Our top priority is to protect the villagers, so we should focus our energy there before planning any battle strategies. We don't want to fail, for if we were to go ahead, it could have dire consequences."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama."

Noticing her silence, Gaara turned towards his assistant, who seemed lost in her thoughts beside the blinding glare of the sun from the window. "What do you think, Nomasaki? Do you have any input?"

"O-Oh," She spoke, jolting from his question. "Well… To start, I also think it's a good idea to guard the village perimeter. But… I think you should have more ANBU at your command, being there are dissidents still in the village." As she noticed both of their attention was on her, she gave a small friendly smile to distract from any troubling thoughts. "I think it would be beneficial, being that you're not only Kazekage but also a jinchuriki. It would lessen the risk of a coup, anyways… and an attack from the Akatsuki." Pondering to herself, she averted her glance and placed her fingers at her chin – mulling over the exact numbers in her mind. "I would suggest… instead of five at your command, perhaps have ten?"

"Is that so?" Gaara replied.

As she could feel her heart race in her chest from anxiety, she clutched the clipboard tighter – hoping that her suggestion did not upset him – or Kenzō. After a moment of silent thought, the young Kazekage turned back towards her, his expression calm.

"I haven't thought of it that way. Thank you, Nomasaki." He said, a hint of gratefulness on his slate-like tone. "I would like you to arrange a meeting for me with the Suna ANBU so we can discuss this further. It's a good idea that shouldn't go unnoticed."

As he started down the hall, she nodded in response. "Right. T-Thank you, Kazekage-sama."

Before she had a chance to take her first step towards him, Kenzō grasped her wrist in an aggressive and tight nature – squeezing it with his palm. She felt as if he were going to break it in his hold. Alarmed, she whipped her head towards him wide-eyed and full of silent fear – unsure of what was to come.

"Don't forget your assignment…" Kenzō spat through his grit teeth, leaning in closer towards her ear. "I can't have you fail me…!"

His voice chilled her. Gulping down her fright that jumped in her throat, she continued on behind the Kazekage as her hold was finally released. Without a sound, the councilman disappearing into the many corridors of the mansion. Thankfully, Gaara did not take notice of his actions or his sudden leave. Putting on a clean slate, she caught up to him. Walking quietly at his side with her glance averted towards the floor as they walked, she played it off as if it had never happened. She had to put herself to the test nearly every day, and that incident was just one of many things she had to deal with.

All for the sake of repaying her debt.

* * *

As she stepped out of the Kazekage's office alone that afternoon, she felt a sinister air following her down the corridor.

Keeping her wits about her, she paid no mind until she was out of reach and out of sight from any Suna shinobi or councilman who wandered the halls. Pausing within a corridor that lead to a darkened dead-end, they appeared as if a ghost from the shadows. Her gut twisted as she met their mask before her. Tojiru. With his fox-like mask boring its gaze into her, he stood before her at the end of the corridor – corrupting the scattered sunlight of the window from his presence.

"Are you being followed?" He asked, his tone low and husky.

She averted her glance from his, narrowing her eyes in distaste. "No," She answered. "Why are you here?"

Handing her a scroll, she took it from his hands carefully. Reading its contents, her expression turned solemn and blank. Kenzō had his right-hand keep tabs on her, it seemed. Judging by the contents of the scroll, he was putting a rush onto her assignment. For months, she acted as his spy reluctantly for the greater good – and for the promise of avoiding certain exile and death. She lay awake most nights, sleep avoiding her as she devoted her time to being the Kazekage's dutiful assistant by day, and by night she was the tracking unit's newest asset for the dissident who wanted the Kazekage gone.

She had bitten off more than she could chew, and it was taking its unforgiving toll on her.

"Why so silent?" Tojiru scoffed under his mask. "Can't you read?"

Glaring up at him with a furrow in her brow, she met the menacing scowl of his porcelain mask. Shrouding his face, the vulpine expression of his carved mask sent a subtle chill down her spine. From the moment of their first meeting only months before, she had sensed an air of mistrust around him – and she refused to give him any benefit of the doubt. He was only three years her senior and was a very feared and jealous man. Tojiru was hand-picked by Kenzō as a boy – just as she was. Possessing remarkable sensory skills and an admirable swordsman, he quickly rose through the ranks and became a tracker-nin to serve Kenzō as he saw fit.

He was the perfect tool – and he knew it.

Since Nomasaki joined the ranks of the tracker-nin as Kenzō's 'new tool', Tojiru made it his duty to ensure she had a miserable time. While training, he would often make an example of her towards their superiors, call her out on her weaknesses, and exclude her during any assigned missions. If she made a single misstep, he would hightail himself to Kenzō and inform him of her disgraces. Much to his dismay, she was becoming a favorite of Commander Moro – who often shielded her from such verbal attacks and sabotage. If anything was for certain, the moment the wolf entered that chamber, Tojiru's pride had never felt so threatened.

"This is your given assignment. It's in your best interest that you obey Kenzō-sama... if you were smart."

"I'm aware of that," She answered, her tone low and cold. "Tell him I'm working on it -,"

"That's not acceptable! _You are a tool_ , remember that… and there is no use for a broken one."

She froze.

He was right – although she did not want to admit to it. Was she broken, she thought to herself – or was she not meant to be a shinobi from the very start? Reaffirming her thoughts in her mind, she knew she was not broken – she was a survivor. All that she had done was to ensure her survival, and her instincts saw to that she lived to see another day – no matter the harsh choices she had to make. Becoming Kenzō's spy was one of those choices, albiet a forced one.

"I understand…" She uttered, hanging her head low and averting her troubled glance. "Will that be all?"

Hearing the fabric over his shoulders shift, Tojiru walked past her in the scattered shadows, the sunlight once more returning. "You learned nothing…"

Turning to meet his mask for a final time, she shot him a narrowed glare from her violet eyes. She could feel her back stiffen from his presence, her blood boiled subtly under her human skin as she could feel the beast within her awaken in defense. Forming a single hand-sign as he faced her, she could make out a faint grin beneath the cover of his vulpine mask adorned in markings of green and orange.

"…I'll be watching you closely, outsider."

As suddenly as he arrived, Tojiru once more vanished within the shadows. Breathing easy to herself, she looked down at the floor at her feet with a saddened glance to her eyes dull with exhaustion and stress. It was only weeks ago that her training under the tracking unit hastened and took a turn for what truly awaited her, her paranoia winning over sleep.

Leaving the corridor behind and starting for the outside, she wished that for once she would have it easier. Since she arrived in Suna, any time where things started to go smooth something would inevitably derail. Then she remembered - she had her mission to complete. With a heavy heart, she left the estate and wondered if asking such a question would be a consequence.

And now it was time to train once more.

* * *

The sound her knees made shook through her as she struck the ground in panic.

Behind her was a wall of fire, released from Tojiru at her back. They were in the simulation grounds, located far from the shelter of the Kazekage's estate and its watchful eyes. Her home was not even an hour's walk away. Trapped with her silent comrades under the eye of Commander Moro, the grounds were heavily guarded, secret to all the villagers but the higher-ups, and covered in stone, sand, and cacti. Her shinobi attire was dirtied and worn, and her once immaculate flak jacket was ripping at one shoulder. Trembling lightly as her mask slid off her scratched face, she pressed her palms into the sand-covered earth.

"Not fond of fire - are you, wolf?"

Behind her, Tojiru stepped around her. Picking up her mask, he examined the craftsmanship and care that went into its making. Each red grove and carving of the mask's snarl was taunting him, provoking him to grasp it tighter in anger. Glaring up at him, she panted under her breaths. The fire did not provoke her fear, but that did not stop her from avoiding it. The heat, the flames, the red - everything about it deterred her. Although the memory of her village's demise was not a distant memory, her unabashed rage during her Chunin Exams fight was still haunting her in her deep thoughts. To make matters worse, the physical exertion she faced before her was far greater than any other training she endured. Not even her trial in the mountains could rival the anguish she felt in the desert.

"Oh?" He smirked, his tone smug. "Upset now, are we? Should I tell Moro-sama you're done for the day?"

"N-No," She pushed herself, biting her lip as she slowly rose from the dirt. "I can still -!"

"Don't be foolish." He interrupted. "Look at you - you're trembling like some frightened child. Tell me... what did Kenzō-sama see in you in the first place?" Noticing the faint sheen of her violet eyes, he sighed. "Ah, that's right - you're a wolf. No wonder you've been getting special treatment from the higher-ups... a new tool to be sharpened at their will. Tell me, wolf - have you ever killed a man before?"

"N-No, sir," She answered, the words jolting her as he spoke. "I... never... -!"

Tossing her mask to the ground, its porcelain shape clattered before her.

Snarling up at her, her mask was an image of a pure beast. Its drawn fangs were menacing and eyes were carved thin and lined with red. She wondered if placing the mask upon her changed who she was - or if it failed to make her shed her dutiful innocence. Duty was a conflicting concept to someone such as her, someone who was never cut out to be a shinobi in the first place. Looking back to him, she could see the visible disdain and hatred in his slit eyes. Although his fox-like mask hid his expression, she could still sense his pure contempt swirling around her. Even his chakra was just as ominous.

"Then what use are you? If you can't kill, you can't be a tool. Shinobi are tools... are you are no shinobi."

A bold anger shivered through her as she eyed him turning on his heel.

Gnashing her emerging canines, she sprang towards him from behind. Before he had the chance to react, she slashed the side of his face with a beastly arm covered in white fur and with claws that were as sharp as knives. Crimson leaked from his jawline and porcelain shattered, his hand pressing against the wound while he grit his teeth in anger.

"You horrid _bitch!_ "

Knocking her away with a kick, she skid across the sand covered ground with her glare locked onto him. As her arm turned back to normal, she felt her body tense as she saw him draw out his katana from its sheath on his back. It would only be a matter of time before she had to reach for hers. Tojiru took his stance, holding his blade drawn and ready to strike, its metal gleaming from the desert sun above.

"I'll show you the wrath of the Sand!"

Instinctually, she grasped the hilt of her blade with her trembling fingers - waiting for him to make a move.

"That's enough! Both of you!"

Jolting them, the demonic mask of their commander entered the foray within a burst of desert winds. Towering over them, Moro eyed them with a scowling glare. Caught off guard, she let the blade slide back into its sheath. Unamused, Tojiru relaxed his stance on the sands, his blade pointing towards the earth with the need for attack still on his mind.

"Tojiru," Moro said, taking off his mask as he turned to the vulpine. "I know Kenzō-sama has made you his right-hand, but don't let that make you forget who's in charge here." His glare stiffened. "I'm the commander of the tracking unit... and you answer to me above all else."

"As you say, Moro-sama." Tojiru answered curtly. Directing his attention to the violet-eyed kunoichi, he gave a sneer. "But I would rather not deal with beasts. They don't seem to listen."

Vanishing amongst the winds, the fox-masked tracker-nin disappeared at last. Turning towards the newest recruit, Moro narrowed his dark eyes. "You there, outsider." Catching her attention, he ignored the fear riddled over her blank face. "No matter how much you may want to... _never_ attack your comrades! You are a shinobi, not a rabid dog. I expect more from you."

Shame marking her eyes, Nomasaki averted her commander's glare. "Yes, sir... I'm sorry."

Watching him take his leave with the donning of his mask, she felt as if she were being watched herself. Looking to her side, she saw the white and red silhouette of her mask snarling towards her. Lifting it from the ground, she looked back into its eyes as she felt the porcelain texture in her dirtied hands. It was snarling back at her. The mask of a tracker, a hunter - a killer.

The night could not come fast enough…

* * *

As midnight drew near, the brisk cold winds of the desert howled throughout the village as the sands swept through the streets in a frenzy.

In uttermost silence, a darkened shape scoured the halls and ceilings of the Kazekage's mansion – manoeuvring amongst the shadows without a suspecting gaze from the few ANBU who lurked the corridor. As the young Kazekage walked silently down the darkened hallway alone, the shadowy figure followed – the only indicator of who it was being the moonlight gleaming upon their porcelain mask – Nomasaki. For the last few hours, she was tailing him without a single glimmer of suspicion, knowing full well his detection abilities could not scope her out. Her abilities as a sensor-nin were being put to the test at each and every moment. Every sound, every breath, every footstep alarmed her. Retreating into the shadows as long as she was able was her best bet.

 _"And if he suspects anything... kill him."_

Kenzō's foul words haunted her.

Watching his garb-clothed back in the distance from the darkness, she remembered the ultimate end of her assignment. If she complied, she could see her father - her wretched father, the man who abandoned his wife and child in the cold mountains near sixteen years ago. The mere thought of his existence made her heart heave in her chest with hate. All she wanted was to put her blade to his throat and hear his final words before collapsing in his own blood. Monsters, he called them. She would show him who the monster was, she thought bitterly.

Determined to seek out her end goal, she tailed the young Kazekage silently as a shadow. His life would pay for what she wanted, but her heart persisted for another way to meet the ends set by her master. She had to make sure he never caught wind - never. If only it was Kenzō she had to tail instead. Facing Gaara in combat would mean certain death, a fate that made her blood run cold. Hiding from a kage-level ninja would be a daunting task, especially one of his caliber.

Gaara suddenly paused – turning around towards where he could sense someone watching him. Stirring inside him, his tailed-beast awoke from the feel of the chakra. - _Someone is tailing you..._ \- Shukaku warned in his psyche. - _They're amongst the shadows..._ -

Sensing a concealed presence, Gaara glared towards the direction of the chakra - heeding his tailed-beast's warning. Edging further into the shadows, the masked tracker-nin climbed effortlessly along the walls as she felt his eyes scan the corridor with strong suspicion. Jolting her, she felt the beast's chakra enter through her senses, pulling, gnawing, grasping her internally. Was it trying to pry her from her hiding place or drag her into its lair for its revenge? She could feel the tanuki's bloodlust in the air around her.

It knew she was there.

* * *

 _Enveloping in her mind, her vision turned black._

 _It was just like that day, she realized. Only there were no voices. She could not hear nor see anything, only the darkness that surrounded her in its void. The waters swept at her feet, the rising winds pushing it against her. Scanning through the dark through the eye slits of her wolfish mask, she felt the one-tail nearby. Turning behind herself, Shukaku reared its head. Its jagged jaws appeared from the shadows and wailed a bloodcurdling roar, its violent erupting winds whipping her hair in lashes against her porcelain shroud._

 _Never had she seen the beast so fearsome._

 _Standing her ground, she shut her eyes tightly. Focusing her chakra, she pushed its chakra away from her mind, pleading for an escape._

* * *

Her eyes shot open as she gasped for breath behind the walls of the corridor.

She was lucky to escape and she knew it - but how did she do so in the first place? Perhaps the beast did manage to pull her - and pull her it did. It was toying with her, failing to even tell its master of her presence. It just wanted to taunt her. _Blast the Shukaku_ , she thought - the tanuki was becoming a dangerous nuisance. Thanks to Gaara's waning seal over the monster, the one-tail was once again becoming something to avoid. Creeping silently against the wall, she calmed herself.

"Who goes there?" Gaara called out, his voice echoing into the dark. "Show yourself!"

Silence.

- _They got away... best be on your guard..._ \- Shukaku spoke. - _There's another... they're approaching..._ -

To his relief, there was no one there.

Cleverly she hid herself amongst the shadows of the conjoining hall – taking refuge from the stellar moonlight that beamed through the windows. Despite his calm and stoic demeanor as he continued walking, brushing off the presence as nothing, she could still sense Shukaku's dense and burgeoning chakra lingering on his skin – its bloodlust entering her senses at full force again as she continued to follow him within the darkened corridor.

It could still sense the wolf.

While Gaara walked alone within the confines of his mansion, he sensed the other presence lurking within the corner of his blind spot behind him. She could feel it, too. Once more, she retreated into the cover of the shadows, catching wind of the intruder.

At the opposite end of the corridor, a veil-masked ninja stood silently with a kunai in hand, glaring at the young Kazekage's backside from the cover of the hallway. His eyes were dark and menacing, his only allegiance being resistance. Assassins were becoming a commonplace in recent months from the nobles who wanted the jinchuriki removed from power, their loyalty being bought and sold by whoever offered the most gold. Treachery flowed directly through their veins. Waiting for the opportune moment to strike at his target, the assassin prepared his stance to leap out and strike. Death did not scare him - and his sacrifice would mean everything to his master even if it meant nothing to him.

Claws padded against the carpeted floor behind him.

Hearing a faint noise close to where he lurked, a growl ringed upon his ears. Shocked, the fear he pushed aside suddenly became alive as his darkened eyes widened at the sight before him. Turning around, he met the monstrous glare of a wolf barring its fangs at him, its muzzle snarling deeply while its feral purple eyes bore through his masked expression of fright.

Within an instant, he made a break for it – dashing towards the direction of the unsuspecting Kazekage. Unfortunately for the assassin, the wolf was high on his trail, bounding towards him as its claws loudly clashed with the stucco floor – a deep bark-like growl ripping through its jaws as it lunged forward. Throwing him to the floor from its massive weight and strength, the wolf's paws restrained his kunai and dominant hand as he tried to strike, snapping at his face with its snarling jaws of gleaming canines. Tearing at his flesh with each snap, the man yelled out as the wolf's white muzzle soon turned red.

His screams echoed against the walls.

Alert, Gaara directed his attention towards the scuffle that was behind him. Approaching with his sand in a swift haze, he seen the white wolf ripping apart the assassin's flak jacket – blood dotting its fur in light waves as it reached the man's flesh. Realizing what was occurring, his ringed-eyes widened. She found the lurking dissident.

"Nomasaki -?!" He shouted. "What are you doing here -?!"

As he could see a faint glimmer of the marking on the assassin's body while the beast continued to attack, he jolted. Paper bombs – and lots of them. Covering the assassin's torso beneath his clothes, tens of paper bombs were littered all over his body, painted in the crimson shade of his spurting blood. Swiftly, Gaara appeared between them with his sand – separating the two as his assistant became human once more in the shock of his sudden approach.

"Get back!"

Standing before her as she sat crouched, he made his stance – moving his arm before him in a quick and intuitive motion. Within an instant, a violent stream of sand appeared and whisked the man through the window, smashing the glass in a burst of sand and silver as the assassin was sent far off into the night skies over the village.

Shielding her face with the black sleeves of her shirt, the blast erupted into the desert sky above. The sound cracked against the dead quiet of the night, debris falling towards the streets below in a burst of flames. Luckily, no one was hurt in the ordeal – and no one had been there to see it other than the Kazekage and his assistant. Littered across the floor of the silent corridor, shards of glass covered the once immaculate carpet that stretched from one end of the hallway to the other. Where the assassin lay under the snarling beast, faint wisps of crimson were painted on the carpet's deep colored fabric. The sight of the scene from anyone outside would be a high cause for an alarm – that was for certain.

Turning around to face her directly, Gaara gave her a concerned look from the guise of the Kazekage's hat. "Are you alright?"

Collecting herself, Nomasaki realized what had just occurred – nodding to him in response. "Yes," She replied, wiping away a spec of blood from her cheek. "I'm fine." Standing up, she dusted off her pants, making sure the fabric was not tainted with the shards of glass from the shattered window. Meeting his stoic gaze, she gave a small smile. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama."

"Kazekage-sama!"

"Gaara!"

Turning towards the other way, Kankuro and two Suna chunin were running to where the Kazekage stood – alarmed from the sudden explosion in the sky. Their expressions were frantic as they approached, coming to a sudden halt before their leader.

"Gaara!" Kankuro shouted, stopping before him. "What the hell just happened? There was an explosion outside!"

"An assassin," He answered, gesturing towards the broken window with a nod. "From my knowledge, they were tailing me for most of the night. That was until Nomasaki discovered him and drew him out."

"Assassin?" Kankuro glared, angered by the news. "Could it be the dissidents are still…?"

"Yes, it appears that's the case. He was covered in paper bombs, and I'm certain I was his target. I could've stopped him myself, but Nomasaki –?"

To his surprise, she was gone – as if vanished from the corridors. Curiously, he looked towards the direction where she previously stood – pondering why she was within the mansion so late at night and how she was able to discover the assassin so fast. As his council predicted, she would definitely prove herself to be a useful asset to have around thanks to her sensory abilities – and at this particular time, he was grateful.

"What do you mean?" Kankuro asked, raising a brow in confusion. "Nomasaki attacked him?"

"She was just here," Gaara replied. "If not for her, I would've had a fight on my hands."

"I didn't see her. Why would she be around the mansion this late at night, anyways?"

"I'm… not sure…"

While Gaara filled in his sibling and guards of what transpired, Nomasaki silently sat along the cold wall of the joining hallway – slowly and silently disappearing into the shadows as she placed the porcelain mask back onto her face.

The mask snarling towards the moonlight as she took her place within the darkness…


	17. Akatsuki's Arrival

**Chapter 17  
** **Akatsuki's Arrival**

* * *

Weeks passed...

Once the meeting with the Suna Council was over that day, Gaara returned to his office within the stronghold of the Kazekage's mansion – going over mission papers and status reports from the border patrol squadrons. Shortly after his arrival, Nomasaki returned from her first mission with the tracker corps and resumed her normal duties as his assistant. Wearing a casual blue and white kimono-like dress rather than her Suna shinobi attire and flak jacket, she wore her silky hair down and kept her clipboard of reminders and papers close by. It was a job she was very proud of - aiding someone she considered a friend and the village where she now called home, performing tasks such as helping him with his mountains of paperwork, fetching him tea, and organizing his schedule amongst other things.

Although, despite their daily closeness, she did hold slight fear of him due to his remarkable prowess – the skill of him earning the rank of Kage and his status as a formidable jinchuriki. She knew he would never hurt her, but the feel of Shukaku's chakra still haunted her since the day she seen it rear its fearful strength towards her - her senses detecting its blood-thirsty presence within his office every day she worked. Despite her fear of Shukaku, she knew she could trust Gaara and that she was safe in his hands, after all he was not the monster. After being the village's Kazekage for nearly a year, his strength was admirable and fairly obvious, and mostly importantly - Shukaku was dormant - at least, for a time. Despite his victory over control from the beast two years prior, Shukaku's defective seal was once again becoming weakened. Although, unlike the last time Gaara was remaining emotionally stable. As she could still sense its chakra stirring nearby while she worked alongside him, it never emerged nor attacked her like it did that time in the forest. Since that day, the memory of the sand creeping up on her was in her nightmares.

" _If anything were to happen where it emerges, get away from here as soon as you can_."

The words the council told her when she took the job rang through her mind almost every day as a warning – and she accepted that warning wholeheartedly. Even though she was afraid of his chakra, she could feel something else as she stood idly by his side while he worked, something that was not the burgeoning presence of Shukaku, but a feeling of warmth that comforted her – no matter how long she pondered the thought, she could not figure out what it was. Keeping her thoughts to herself, she continued her duties as his assistant.

Afterall, he was the Kazekage and she was a wolf - that was something she accepted from the start.

Without the Kazekage's knowledge, she also kept her word to Kenzō - spying on the young ruler as he would return to his chambers each night while she remained undetected and a fly on the wall. Not since that time of the assassin weeks ago, Gaara did not suspect a single thing. Although, the monster that lurked within him might have a hunch as to who or what was following them during the darkened hours of the night. Shukaku was no fool, and neither was she. Every moment she placed that mask upon her face was a moment where she cleansed herself from all that her existence knew of him. He was her target, nothing more. Putting aside her admiration and held friendship for him, she followed through on the demands of her mission and made sure she did not let the jinchuriki out of her sight - or that he was aware of her assignment to begin with.

She was determined to keep that a secret above all else.

* * *

Making her way down the winding corridor, Nomasaki found herself within the sights of the councilmen.

Conversing with one another as she walked past, they seemingly ignored her. Thankfully, she thought to herself. Keeping to herself, she avoided all eye contact with them out of fear for hearing from Kenzō. Although an act of disrespect in Suna's culture, she continued on with her floor-locked pace. As silence entered her senses once more with the departure of the councilmen and their chatter, she was once again free to continue as usual.

Striking her senses, she suddenly felt the presence of someone watching her closely.

Pausing, she turned towards them. Yura, the captain of the Sunagakure's border patrol and a trusted senior advisor to the Kazekage. His glare towards her as she passed by was unsettling, she thought – his eyes locked onto her as she made the bend of the hall. Pausing once she was out of sight, she narrowed her eyes towards his direction. His chakra felt strange and distorted all at once, lurking the halls only steps away from where she was concealed. She had crossed paths with him once before, she remembered – but his chakra certainly did not feel like _that_.

Was there something amiss?

* * *

That evening, as the sun disappeared from the desert sky…

With a stern glance, Gaara was filling out the vast amounts of paperwork that sat upon his desk, placing the finished forms neatly into their respective piles beside his pot of cacti as Nomasaki stood beside him diligently – awaiting for his next request for assistance. With a brief stroke, the pen in his hand paused upon the paper. In the back of his mind, he sensed something that alerted his attention – and Shukaku was sounding the alarm.

- _An intruder…_ \- The beast grumbled in his psyche.

Turning towards the window behind him, he could see something flying in the darkening sky, its silhouette darkened and with great wings that bounded against the air. The distant shadowy figure was shaped as if it were a large bird - a very unusual sight for the lands of the desert, considering there were no birds known to their barren country other than the vultures and other birds of prey. With narrowed ringed-eyes holding suspicion, he peered at the great creature, analyzing its motives from afar.

"Is something wrong?" Nomasaki spoke, stepping closer to the window.

"It's nothing," He replied, turning back to her. "You can sense it, too… can't you?"

Slightly surprised by his observation, she turned towards his gaze at the window. Through the aged glass, she saw the darkened shape bound through the far-off winds of the sunset. Upon seeing the suspicious shape, her eyes narrowed as she could sense their menacing chakra close by – its erratic presence and aggressive nature alarming her more than the rising presence of his inner demon.

"Yes, it's… puzzling." She said, her eyes stern. "Whoever it is, they made it past our defenses. Their chakra is also disturbing, so I take it they are a formidable foe." As she watched the mysterious shape in the sky draw closer, her eyes appeared worried. "I have a bad feeling about this…"

Turning towards him, she noticed his unwavering gaze at the figure. He was completely invested in his focus, his tanuki-like eyes narrowed into a glare as he examined its flight above the orange village skies. Not once during her tenure as his assistant had she seen him so troubled, and it worried her.

"Do you think… this could be the Akatsuki?"

"Perhaps," He replied. "The Suna Council described them as unorthodox in method, so it's a possibility. Even so, I wouldn't be surprised…"

After a moment of watching the shadowy figure bound against the skies once more, he accepted its taunt. With a furrow to his expression, he stood up from his chair and started towards the door at the end of the room. Startling her from his action, she stepped towards him, her expression alert and bewildered.

"Gaara-sama -,"

"Nomasaki, you stay here." He said, pausing in the doorway, his voice stern-sounding. "I'll be right back. In the meantime, alert the ANBU to guard the village perimeter for the remainder of the night. Things might get out of hand… we must protect the villagers."

"Where are you going?" She asked, turning towards him – her eyes wide and concerned for his sudden actions, clutching her clipboard tightly to her chest. "You can't possibly…-?"

Glancing towards her, she could see the brisk seriousness in his ringed turquoise eyes, conveying his authority as leader of the village to her – the eyes of a Kage. Meeting her concerned glance, his ringed-eyes were tinted with a protective and swift nature of a natural ruler with a ferocity for conflict.

"…To greet our intruder."

Surprising her, he left his office alone with the thud of the closing wooden door. Swallowing her concern, she accepted the fact that he had gone to face the unknown foe who infiltrated Suna without any warning – and she had a task to complete…

* * *

Moments later after he departed for battle, Nomasaki started down the hallway towards the ANBU meeting chambers. Standing before a squad of fifteen ANBU, she stood calmly and controlled before them – relaying her urgent message from the Kazekage.

"Those are Kazekage-sama's orders." She finished. "I sense no other enemies nearby, but just in case, guard the perimeter of Suna."

Their concealed faces nodding, they accepted the command. "Understood!" Within a flash, the ANBU disappeared from her sight in an instant - heading towards the battle that was only just beginning to wage.

Standing still, her lilac eyes narrowed as she could sense a sinister presence lurking behind her. Keeping her emotions in check, she stood her ground, clutching the clipboard against her breast. From the corner of her eye, a malicious-looking Suna ninja appeared from the winding corridor, exerting an intimidating presence while he stood behind her in the hallway.

"You're all alone." He grinned. "Kazekage-sama's secretary, is that it?"

Hiding her anger, she turned her body towards him, masking her expression with a warm friendly smile. "Hello, there." She spoke, calmly. "May I assist you?"

"Yes." The man replied, with an eerie undertone. "I would like you...-,"

Suddenly, a glimmer of a kunai appeared from his sleeve. Grasping the weapon in his hand, he bolted towards her as she stood with her guard down.

"...to DIE!"

Swiftly, as he approached, she set aside her clipboard and dodged his lunge by a hair - the air from the attack breezing against her expressionless face. Suddenly, he lunged forward again with the kunai. Without breaking a sweat, she grabbed his wrist and took hold of his weapon with her other hand. Turning the tables on his attack, she stabbed him in the chest before he could even process what had happened, puncturing his flesh.

"But... but how?!" He coughed, blood pouring out of his mouth. "You're just...-!"

"A woman?" She asked. "Yes, I am a woman. Also, you're wrong on the secretary-part...-,"

Glancing up to her eyes, he felt the contempt and suppressed rage within them, her eyes appearing almost feral in anger. Flinching near death, he swore he met the eyes of a monster, a beast – a wolfish creature glaring into the broken confines of his departing soul. Was this death, he thought – or a mere figment of his mind? The gleam of her protruding canines were convincingly real – and so was the bore of her beastly narrowed eyes.

"I'm Kazekage-sama's assistant." She spat. "You treacherous fool!"

Coughing up blood, his eyes began to glaze over. "Damn you...!"

With a loud thud, his body hit the carpeted floor of the hallway, staining the rug with crimson.

Kneeling down towards her defeated would-be attacker, she narrowed at his Suna shinobi attire and the gleam of his headband – the emblem of shared village loyalty visible from the scattered light of the corridor. His strange chakra felt similar to the disruption of Captain Yura's she sensed earlier, she thought to herself. Within a few mere moments, his final breaths sputtered from his bloodied lips. Suddenly, the reality set in around her in that corridor.

She made a kill.

Her first one.

Eyes wide, she felt her hands tremor at the sight before her. Dressed as a comrade, her enemy lay slain upon the floor. Her shivering fingers grazing his flak jacket and the bloodstained puncture of the kunai lodged into his chest, she made sure that he was dead. As the crimson painted her fingers, it was clear to her that he was not waking up anytime soon.

"Nomasaki!"

Turning towards the voice, she seen Baki running towards her from the beginning of the corridor, accompanied by Kankuro and two other Suna shinobi. Their expressions were reasonably shocked as their footsteps came to a screeching halt before her and the dead. Gritting his teeth, Baki glanced down towards the corpse of the enemy, examining their flak jacket and the blood that pooled upon the floor and on her hands.

"What happened?!" He demanded, the shinobi at his sides readying their weapons from their concealment. "Explain yourself at once!"

"Baki-sama -!" Her words clattered from her throat. "It's not what it looks like -!"

"You have scarce time amongst yourself! That man has a Suna headband, he's one of ours!"

"This man," She began, glancing to the side in suspicion. "I believe he was one of the Akatsuki spies. His chakra - something was strange about it."

"Are you certain?" Kankuro pressed, disturbed by the sight.

Nodding towards him, she gave a stern glance, hiding the shock that trembled through her. She was a shinobi, she remembered - she had to hide her emotions, especially in times of war. Turning to the lifeless corpse before her, her lilac eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"He was lurking in the halls all evening, since Gaara-sama left his office. He was tailing me for about an hour, and then proceeded to attack me once the Kazekage was gone. His chakra also felt distorted, somehow. I don't know how to explain it… but it was… ominous."

"Damn it!" Baki spat, angered. "Blast the Akatsuki! They must have been planting spies all around the village... This whole time!"

"It must be a forbidden jutsu," Kankuro added. "In the early days, the puppet corps used a technique to create spies, or sleeper agents, to spy for Suna." Looking down at the defeated enemy, he analyzed their defeated and gaping expression. "This one must've been under that jutsu... then planted in Suna as a chunin to avoid suspicion."

"Shit," Baki grit his teeth. "So, it seems that's the case. Those bastards...!"

"What are we to do, sir?" One of the idle Sand ninja asked.

Baki turned to them, his expression stern and urgent. "Report to the village's center," He commanded. "We must protect all civilians!"

"Yes, sir!"

"You look rattled,"

Jolting her, she turned to meet the narrowed glance of the Kazekage's older brother. Pausing beside her, she saw the glint of his dark eyes examining her expression, breaking through the cracks of her calm expression. She felt as though he could see the shock painted within her eyes. It was intrusive, she thought. Just like his younger brother, he seemed to be able to read her eyes well. Only with Kankuro, it felt as though she were being examined by a stranger.

"Were you hurt?" He asked. It was a strange question coming from him. Only scarcely in the year she was Gaara's assistant had she interacted with the younger puppet-master. The air of distrust was around him, his guarded expression conveying it to her without uttering a single word. "Are you alright?"

"No," She brought herself to answer. "I...-," Her words stopped. Swallowing her fear, she met his eyes. "...I just killed a man."

Taken aback, Kankuro stood silent from her words. Glancing back towards the corpse of the fallen who lay sprawled against the bloodied floor, he noted the blood still painting her pale hands. He suddenly remembered the difference and gaps between them. She was from a far off land sheltered from the shinobi world. Never had she experienced the lifestyle of shinobi until she wandered through their village gates those two years ago. Her violet eyes held a scarred innocence to them.

"Nomasaki," Baki's approaching voice drew both of their attention. "Can you sense Captain Yura?"

Diverting her attention away from her mortal crime, she formed a single hand-sign and closed her eyes. In deep focus, she entered her sensory abilities. All around her, she felt the chakra of her surrounding comrades, all the civilians outside, and the growing dark chakra of the foes who entered the village. Not too far off, she sensed Gaara. His chakra was fraught with the feel of Shukaku, the beast exerting a pulse within his as he countered attacks from the enemy.

But no Captain Yura.

Opening her eyes, she shook her head. "No, he's gone." She answered. "I can't sense his chakra anywhere - and believe me, if he lingered I could detect it." Gesturing her glance towards the body of the slain Suna ninja, their glances followed. "His chakra was disturbed... like that man."

"And Gaara -!" Kankuro entered, sternly. "Where is he?"

"He's fighting the enemy. He's above the village, in the skies."

After the other two Sand ninja were deployed, Baki turned to them. "Kankuro, Nomasaki - we have to report to Kazekage-sama, in case he requires assistance!"

Nodding, they followed Baki to the rooftop of the Kazekage's mansion - towards the emerging threat...

* * *

That night as the full moon rose above them, hundreds of villagers and ninja crowded the streets to see the grand spectacle above.

In the darkened sky, their young Kazekage was battling a mysterious cloaked enemy upon a clay bird – fending off explosive attacks with his impervious sand. Up above in battle with the Kazekage, Deidara was engaged in combat, using his explosive-style attacks. A feared rogue ninja from Iwagakure of the Land of Earth, Deidara was infamously known as the terrorist who destroyed everything he ever touched. Within each blast and lunge of the sand, his yellow hair whipped across his mechanical eye as he moved closer to the young Kazekage – his black and red cloak swaying rapidly in the violent desert winds.

"Kazekage-sama's opponent…" A Suna ninja began. "By his garb, I suspect he's a member of the Akatsuki."

"I thought so." Kankuro replied, watching the battle above beside Baki and Nomasaki. "I guess we were right about those sleeper-agents after all…"

Witnessing the battle with lilac eyes filled with worry, Nomasaki stood alongside them – narrowing her eyes into a glare as she watched the rogue-cloaked ninja launch attacks towards Gaara above. "Akatsuki…" She repeated, quietly. "How foul…"

As she began to weave a hand-sign for a wind-release jutsu, Baki suddenly held out his arm in front of her – blocking her silent attempt of aide.

"No, Nomasaki." He commanded. "We can't risk hitting Kazekage-sama by accident. Stand-by for now, until given orders."

Averting her gaze in slight embarrassment, she lowered her hands, surrendering her jutsu. "Forgive me, Baki-sama." She apologized, quietly. "I… couldn't help myself."

With a stern look, Baki turned to the squad of Suna shinobi behind them. "Prepare to battle now! We must cover Kazekage-sama!" He commanded. "Medical corps, erect a shield and evacuate all non-combatants!"

"Yes, sir!" They nodded. Within a blink of an eye, they dispersed into the village, following their given orders.

"Kankuro," Baki spoke.

"Sir?" Kankuro answered, turning to him.

"We must consider the possibility of Gaara going feral and have a contingency plan in case Shukaku emerges." Baki said, sternly. "We must consider the worst-case scenario."

Kankuro gnashed his teeth for a moment from the thought of the monster, the feared Sand Spirit. After a moment, his expression calmed – remembering the growth of his younger brother and his strong resolve to protect his comrades. After remembering Gaara's words he told him two years ago on his dream to become Kazekage, he smirked to himself, knowing there was no way he would cause the village harm.

"Come on, no way." He said. "Gaara wouldn't hurt any villagers."

* * *

Up above in the night sky...

Deidara's clay creation had sudden expanded in his palm – its ghastly expression conveying widespread destruction and fire. "I should destroy this village, hmm?" He cackled. "It's distasteful to be attacked from below, hmm? And I'm tired of seeing your expressionless face!"

Suddenly, the giant clay bomb plummeted towards the village in weighted speed – on its path to wipe the desert clean of civilian life. Shocked, Gaara's eyes widened as he looked on at the threat to his village – pondering what he could do to stop it before it was too late.

"What is that?!"

"It's coming straight for us!"

With frightened worried eyes, Nomasaki watched the descending attack as she could sense the doom conveyed by the bomb's expression - fearing the worst.

"Not good!" Baki shouted, directing the Sand ninja and villagers behind him. "Run!"

At that moment, Deidara formed a hand-sign, grinning menacingly as the villagers began to scream and panic in the streets as the bomb drew closer – then it was detonated. All of the sudden, there was a great blinding flash and a deafening blast, as if fire was set to the desert sky. When Nomasaki opened her eyes, she was surprised of the sight. Blanketing the entire village from above, a massive wall of sand broke between the sky – protecting everyone from the Akatsuki's attack. Weakened from the amount of chakra he used, Gaara panted within his floating cocoon of sand, his strength and chakra nearing its ultimate limits.

"You're in range, hmm?" Deidara said, grinning – forming a single hand-sign as he glanced at the exhausted jinchuriki.

Jolting, Gaara's eyes widened from the sight - from the corner of his eye, he saw a tiny clay bird inches away from him, one of Deidara's bombs. Suddenly, it exploded before him, striking the sand surrounding him with a fiery might. When the smoke faded, the sand shield surrounding Gaara became completely enclosed, protecting him like a shell - he was unharmed, thanks to his prowess.

Smirking at him, Deidara shot him a glare. "Swift and resilient." He remarked. To Gaara's shock, tiny clay spiders crawled out through the cracks of his sand shield from the inside, pacing towards him – leaving no time to react. Without mercy, Deidara formed his signature hand-sign, and it was all over.

From below, the villagers keeping watch saw the sand shield shudder, hearing the muffled blast that was inside it. Slowly, the cocoon of sand started to crumble away into nothing in the night sky above. As the sand fell, Gaara was seen - injured and weak, with his sand armor crumbling off his body. Although it was hard for the villagers to believe, Gaara had been defeated by the Akatsuki foe. Slowly, his weakened ringed-eyes closed as his head of crimson slumped forward - losing all traces of consciousness. As his sand was gone with the desert winds, he descended from the night sky - to his death.

Shocked and horrified, Nomasaki cupped her hands over her mouth. "Oh no!" She gasped. "Gaara!"

"G-Gaara!" Kankuro shouted.

Suddenly, Deidara's clay bird swooped down and snatched the young Kazekage with its tail, flying away from the village with the young ruler in capture. Looking back at the captured jinchuriki, he smirked at his defeated crumbling body.

"Snagging you alive was the hard part," He spoke. "And a most satisfying end to this masterpiece."

To the village's horror, the Fifth Kazekage was gone - captured by the mysterious enemy in the cloak of red clouds…


	18. The Assistant

**Chapter 18  
** **The Assistant**

* * *

Two days have passed since Gaara was captured by the Akatsuki…

That dire evening, a squad of Konoha shinobi had arrived in the village to answer the call to help recover their missing Kazekage. Within a matter of hours, Haruno Sakura – the pupil of the famed Slug Princess and Fifth Hokage of Konoha – healed Kankuro from his battle with Sasori of the Red Sands, completely neutralizing the poison in his system – saving his life. Within the confines of the Sunagakure Hospital, his muffled screams of pain could be plainly heard by anyone on the same floor. Although saved from his near-fatal scrape with death, the treatment proved exhausting, causing him to pass out shortly after as the naroctic effects of the antidote kicked in his system.

Sitting idly by on the bench in the waiting room area, a blonde shinobi clothed in black and orange sat beside his stoic and solemn sensei – Uzumaki Naruto, stretching his arms in anticipating for battle. "As soon as Sakura finishes," He said, sternly. "We move out!"

"Rein it in a bit, Naruto." Kakashi replied, sternly. Dismayed by his sensei's response, he averted his glance in an annoyed expression – slumping down in his seat with his arms folded across his chest.

"The answer is no! You're not going out after Gaara-sama on your own!"

"I'm a jonin-level shinobi! I can take care of myself!"

Curiously, Naruto peered down the hall of the winding Suna hospital – scanning for the voices he just heard moments ago. Far down the corridor, he seen Baki – Gaara's former sensei, speaking down at a girl he never seen before. Wearing a blue and white kimono-like dress, the golden-haired girl stood argumentatively in front of Baki – her stance solidified before him and her eyes narrowed up at him.

"You're a capable kunoichi, but you're no match for the Akatsuki," Baki argued. "You must wait until a pursuit squad is assembled!"

Her lilac eyes glistened with her forming tears as she tried to keep her emotions at bay. Gaara was gone, kidnapped by the enemy they were routinely warned about, and they could do nothing but watch as it happened. The village was scrambling to resolve the matter, but at the same time they were doing the bare minimum. It angered her, as both Gaara's assistant and as someone she considered a friend.

"But by then it will already be too late!" She shot back. "I'm a tracker-nin! I can use my Kekkei Genkai to find him, and-!"

"Those enemies came into the village single-handedly and defeated Gaara-sama!" Baki yelled at her. "Do you really think you have a chance against them?!"

Flinching from his aggression, she bit her tongue, knowing that deep down, Baki was right – she did not stand a chance against his captors.

"If you go after them, you'll only end up like Kankuro…" Baki stated, turning towards the open emergency room.

Following his gaze, she could see Kankuro being treated by the pink-haired kunoichi from Konoha – being cured from the noxious poison that nearly killed him, with Temari standing closely by his side in worry for his condition. Submitting to the argument, Nomasaki turned back and lowered her head, looking down at the floor in silence with saddened eyes.

"In the meantime," Baki began. "We need all of our shinobi to stay in the village in case of an ambush. Our Kazekage is gone, leaving us vulnerable for attack."

With that being said, he walked over to Kakashi and Naruto – interrupting their silent conversation. "It's getting late. You'll need a place to spend the night."

"We have no time to rest!" Naruto objected. "We have to go and rescue Gaara!"

From hearing Gaara's name mentioned, Nomasaki listened to their conversation intently.

"Naruto, saving Gaara is our top priority right now, but we need rest." Kakashi spoke. "We've been travelling nonstop for days. Anymore and we'll out-do ourselves."

Baki nodded, turning to Nomasaki, who was still in the hallway. "Nomasaki!" He commanded.

Quietly, she walked over. "Y-Yes, sir?"

"Show the Konoha shinobi to their rooms."

Turning towards them, she suddenly felt a massive and eerie chakra within her senses, reminding her of the terror that Shukaku enveloped. Scanning for the source of the vile chakra, she was drawn to the young man who appeared her age – an orange and black clad ninja with whisker-like markings on his cheeks. As her fright-stricken eyes examined him from afar as he did not notice her gaze, she remembered Gaara's description of the ninja who steered him from the path of darkness – Uzumaki Naruto. Could it be possible that Naruto was a jinchuriki as well?

Snapping out of her daze, she turned back to Baki's direction. "Yes, sir." She spoke with a nod, silently, as he walked off into the operating room – checking on Kankuro's status. Calmly, she started towards the visiting Konoha shinobi. "Please, follow me. I'll show you where you'll be staying with us."

Naruto watched carefully at her as she approached, curiously – narrowing his glance at her defeated light purple eyes.

* * *

Making their way through the winding hall of the Kazekage's mansion within the heart of the village, Naruto curiously peered at the silent young woman who guided them. Growing somewhat suspicious of who she was, he watched her carefully. Looking at her light purple eyes, he became perplexed by their vivid appearance – a strange eye color.

"So… who are you, anyway?" He asked, curiously. "A Suna-nin?"

"Yamamori Nomasaki," She answered as they walked, nodding subtly and keeping her gaze locked on ahead. "I'm the Kazekage's assistant."

"The Yamamori clan," Kakashi spoke with a sigh, reminiscing. "I can honestly say, I haven't heard of one in a long time. Not since my days in the Konohagakure ANBU. I've heard the clan disappeared years ago, but they're from the Land of Mountains, not the Land of Wind." He glanced to her. "How did a clansman from the north end up in the deserts to the south?"

"I'm from Yamagakure, where we originally came from. However, the village was destroyed… so I ended up here." Sadly, her eyes closed halfway, remembering what little she knew of her clan's origin. "Our clan was ancient, some say existing for as long as eight-hundred years. Many battles were fought using my clan in the past, causing them to be feared and shunned by others. In old times, if we of the clan were discovered by our enemies, they would have us killed or hunted for bounty. Since then, all Yamamori had kept their bloodline a secret, and scattered themselves across the lands."

"I see."

"So, you're the Kazekage's assistant?" Naruto asked, pressingly – his blue eyes conveying concern for his friend. "Gaara's assistant?"

Nodding, a small smile appeared on her lips. "Yes, I am." She replied, softly. "I have been his assistant for almost a full year now, since the day he became Kazekage."

"I take it you know Gaara pretty well, huh?" Naruto pressed, narrowing his blue eyes.

Nomasaki's eyes widened for a moment, then saddened as she paused. "Yes…" She said, quietly. "I do." Turning to him, she gave a subtle, friendly smile. "Gaara-sama has told me about you, Uzumaki Naruto… how you changed him into a better person and helped him make his own path. I've heard nothing but good things about you."

Slightly surprised by her words, Naruto nodded in return, softly smiling as he thought of his friend. With a slight creak, she opened the door before them, revealing two beds inside. The room was made of solidified clay, with quaint sheets and a bright lamp beside the single window. A guest room, if he ever saw one.

"These will be your rooms during your stay. It's not much, but all we can offer."

"Thank you." Kakashi nodded. "These will be more than enough."

"And if I can make a request," Slightly surprised by her words, the Konoha ninja turned to her – curious of what she was asking of them. Looking upon them with a serious yet pleading glance, they could see the hurt and pain in her eyes. "Please, save Gaara-sama… For our village's sake."

Pausing from her request, Naruto gave a friendly smile and a brief chuckle, grasping the strap of his backpack as he stood with his sensei. "Of course we will!" He promised. "We'll save him! You can count on us!"

Smiling softly, she nodded from his words - hopeful. "Thank you." She said, quietly.

Starting down the hall once they went their separate ways, she anticipated what awaited her in the near future. Could this be her call to save Gaara? As she began to feel a brief rush of determination, she thought to herself of the young man she met from Konoha.

- _Uzumaki Naruto… I can see why Gaara has taken a liking to you… you give people hope…_ -

* * *

Entering the emergency room at the Sunagakure Hospital, Nomasaki stepped within the boundaries of the operating table where Kankuro lay unconscious.

His treatment was only just completed, and he cheated death for yet another day. The room was visibly vacant of doctors, nurses, and medical-nin, with only the ambient vital machines present with their faint pulses of noise in the background that night. As she walked inside, she felt a coy chakra approach her from her blind-spot. Pausing as she turned towards them, she jolted slightly from meeting their gaze. Chiyo, the well-renowned elder of Sunagakure – the elder sister of Ebizo and one half of the Honorable Siblings. Standing before the purple-eyed young woman, the elder gave her a blank expression of exhaustion. She must have been watching over Kankuro, she thought to herself – why else would she be there?

"O-Oh," Nomasaki stammered, bowing her head slightly. "Chiyo-sama -,"

"Enough of the formalities," Chiyo sighed. "I am but a senile old woman. Don't trouble yourself, girl."

"M-My apologies," Nomasaki nodded, beginning to feel awkward from their encounter. Although Chiyo was famous for her previous acts of the wars and achievements for the village, she was also famous for her vivid temper and low patience. She was being careful to not set her off. "I was merely trying not to disrespect -,"

"Disrespect?" Chiyo scoffed to herself. "You're an amusing one, I'll give you that. You may have won the council over, but you can't fool me!" Peering into the strange violet hue of Nomasaki's eyes, the elderly woman narrowed her glance towards her – uneasy. "Someone from a different land and village… like those Konoha shinobi who showed up unannounced and took over our own rescue mission…"

"Forgive me, Chiyo-sama… but those Konoha shinobi are helping us -,"

"And how are you helping us, may I ask? Are you looking for the Kazekage?"

Flinching in her stance before her, Nomasaki struggled to make her lips form the words to her answer in time. She was forbidden until given orders to set off on her own – and she was playing right into the elderly woman's hand. Her quivering mouth failed to express her reply, as the elder smirked lightly at her stunned expression. Satisfied, the old woman folded her hands behind her back, walking off towards the exit.

"I rest my case."

"Chiyo-sama," Nomasaki pleaded, her tone quiet and calm as she stepped towards her. "With all due respect, Sunagakure is my home. I must stand by until orders are given… -,"

"And Sunagakure is resorting to letting those from other lands claim our village as their home?" Chiyo barked back, pausing in her steps and refusing to meet her glance. "Such a dishonorable time, indeed."

Watching the elder's back as she left the room left her with a bad taste in her mouth. Such a cranky old woman, she thought – how could she be so bitter in a time such as this? Glancing towards the floor with a frown, she wondered if she overstepped her bounds.

"Don't… mind her, Nomasaki,"

Alarmed by the voice, she turned towards the bed where Kankuro lay behind her. He was awake and was speaking clearly. Much to her relief, he seemed alright. The Konoha shinobi must have healed him well, judging by his quick tongue making a return. Sitting in the chair before the bed, she gave him a concerned glance from her violet eyes.

"Are you able to wake?"

Weakly, he sat up from his rest, the bandages wrapped around his torso bending as he lifted himself from the bed mired in blood and poison. Once he was up, he looked down at the stiff coverings that concealed his deep wounds, his dark eyes narrowed.

"The Akatsuki… you'd be a fool to go after them," He started. "Just look at me… that's your answer."

"Do you know who it was who attacked you?" She pressed. "Did they have Gaara-sama?"

Gnashing his teeth, the wounds pulsed faintly as he remembered the name of the one who near killed him – the one who created his beloved puppets so many years ago. Turning towards her, he met her glance, narrowing his gaze as he gave a subtle nod.

"Sasori… of the Red Sands… it was him." He said. "Gaara was captured by the other one… the one with the white bird."

The rumors were true – Sasori, the infamous criminal of the sands had indeed made his return. Judging by Kankuro's injuries, he was lucky enough to be alive to tell the tale. Having only heard stories of him from her comrades, she could not even fathom the feared strength such a man possessed. The Secret Red Technique of One Hundred Puppets, rumored upon the winds to have defeated an entire country alone – an enemy such as Sasori of the Red Sands would be near impossible to defeat alone.

"I see." She sighed, averting her glance in guilt. "I'm sorry I didn't go with you."

Hanging his head down low, he let out a humored chuckle. "If Gaara knew you tagged along, he would be furious." He replied, catching her attention. "He would've wanted you to stay here. You're his sensory guide and assistant, you're too valuable to be put at risk." Turning to her, he gave a serious expression. "I'm his brother, I have the right to rescind that… and put my life on the line."

A light smile on her lips, she stood up from the chair, starting towards the doorway at the front of the room. Pausing her hand on the doorknob, she gave a nod towards him. "I have to go. I'll relay you any updates from the council as I hear back."

Before she had the chance to turn and take her leave, a presence of a chakra caught her by surprise. Pausing, she met the aged glance of Elder Ebizo. He stood by quietly towards the edge of the room by the doorway, keeping a close and careful watch over the young man on bedrest. Turning to her, she could see a faint gleam of his eyes through his heavy wrinkled brow. Although the younger half of the Honorable Siblings, he appeared as if older than his sister.

"Ah, it's you." He spoke. "Kazekage-sama's assistant, is it?"

"Y-Yes, sir." She nodded, her heart prepared for another lashing. _Formalities_ , she remembered. "Ebizo-sama."

"Ebizo is fine, my dear," He assured with the raise of his palm. A calm and apologetic air came over his aged expression. "I would like to apologize on my elder sister's words. I must admit, we old-folks are not used to seeing outsiders in our lands. You're from the Land of Mountains, I heard. It's a terrible thing what Ishigakure did to your homeland. Truly terrible." His face stiffened, examining the strange hue to her violet eyes. The eyes of an outsider. "Tell me... as someone who is an outsider born of a different land than our own, why do you feel so strongly for our Kazekage?"

His words struck her.

Alarmed, she could hardly muster an answer. "Ebizo-sama -,"

"I can see it in your eyes," He said. "It's the same with the Konoha shinobi who've arrived. They are all willing to risk their lives for another village, for our Kazekage's sake. Tell me, young one - why are you so willing as well?"

She felt her heart pause in her seized chest.

Why was she so willing? The question was one she had to ask herself. Her mission had forced her to stay hardened in her stance as a shinobi bound by oaths and duty - Kenzō saw to that. Keeping emotions at bay was a daunting and difficult task, with most times leaving her to question if she was truly a shinobi after all. Still, her heart ached at the thought of losing Gaara. He could be dead already for all she knew. She wished she could have been strong enough to break from the world that bound her and seek him herself, but she failed to muster the courage. Hope lingered despite the odds. Remembering her encounter with the jinchuriki from the east, she looked the elder in the eyes and gave a stern nod.

"Because Gaara-sama is our Kazekage," She answered. "...and he is my friend."

Her friend.

Time was cruel to her, the word seldom uttered in the last year. Hearing herself say those words pierced her like ice. Her training as a spy and tracker-nin had been unforgettable in more ways than she could fathom. Swallowing the words, she took back what was taken. Kenzō was shrewd in more ways she could count, but never could he blind her to her friendships or take them away - whether they were his targets or not.

"I may be an outsider, but I care deeply for this place. It's my home." She said, bringing herself to speak more. "I would gladly risk my life for the village - or Kazekage-sama."

Ebizo nodded. "Well said."

A chakra suddenly entered her senses.

Knowing the scent well, she felt herself freeze where she stood. Eyeing the doorway, she knew what awaited her outside. Giving a brief bow of her head, she took her leave in silence. After Kankuro gave a nod in acknowledgment, she closed the door behind her. Entering the confines of the hospital halls around her, she could sense she was being followed by Kenzō's tracker-nin – just one. She knew the chakra of the vulpine-masked felon anywhere. Tojiru was watching her carefully from the shadows and she could feel every peer and every crawl. Kenzō wanted something. Narrowing her eyes ahead of her, she started on her way towards the Kazekage's mansion to face him and to see what he wanted next of her.

She hoped an escape would graciously show itself - but that was wishful thinking.

* * *

Sitting in a darkened room before her was Kenzō with a masked bodyguard silently at his side.

Tojiru. The vulpine-faced lackey had his hand locked to the hilt of his blade at his back, ready to pull at any moment to strike her. Still and concise, Kenzō issued to her his commands, his face hidden by the darkness that plagued the room. Only the sharpened scars of his lips were visible from the scant light where he etched his will. The words Kenzō uttered from the shadows haunted her, their cold tone striking her. She stood wide-eyed and shocked, her mouth and lips unable to form a response.

"W-Why am I given such an order?!" She stammered. "I thought you wanted me to keep tabs on Gaara-sama's activity through the tracking unit… why am I not allowed to find him with the others?"

"The Kazekage is gone. He was a threat to our way of life… a jinchuriki of the unstable Shukaku." Kenzō responded from the cover of the shadows, the masked tracker-nin beside him unmoving in threatening silence. "With Gaara-sama taken by the Akatsuki, an opportune time arises for Suna. We can finally rid the village of the burden of Shukaku and its unstable jinchuriki."

"But… why…-?"

Kenzō promptly stood from his shrouded seat, stepping closer to her - his narrowed eyes boring through her in the dark. "You are not to assist in tracking down Kazekage-sama's whereabouts, no matter who commands, whether it be from the Suna Council itself or the ones below. You are not to disobey." He commanded. "By swearing your oath of service to Suna, you act as a proxy in the best interests of the village. Do not forget… we spared you when you arrived here two years ago at our doorstep."

Sadly, she looked down, averting her gaze. "N-No, sir..." She acknowledged, reluctantly. "I did not forget..."

"That would be all."

"If you so much as even think of going against your master's will, I will lop off your head myself." Tojiru sneered, his blade shining in the dark as he withdrew it before her. "I've always wanted a nice pelt. Try not to blow our cover... or you'll be sorry you ever wandered into these parts, outsider."

Meeting the glare of his porcelain mask, Nomasaki glared back. Disgust twisted in her core, her blood boiling beneath her still exterior. _The nerve of him_ , she thought bitterly. Walking off into the shadows of the darkened chamber, Kenzō paused amongst the darkness in thought. Watching him carefully, she stood her ground in anticipation of him returning with another command, her fists balled lightly at her sides. Sensing her discomfort and troubled glance, he looked back at her from the corner of his eye, a smug grin curving on his lips at the helpless tool he kept to himself.

"And if somehow Gaara-sama returns to the village alive, resume your monitoring duties. Those are your commands, Nomasaki. It's in your best interest to not disobey. Unless you would like to experience the punishment of treachery." Before departing within the shadows, Kenzō paused, glancing towards her fearful eyes - boring through them with his in spite. "You are forbidden from searching for Kazekage-sama. If you go against your given orders, you will pay the ultimate price... and I will find out if you do."

Looking back towards the shadows where they stood, she nodded – her expression emotionless and blank, her eyes closed halfway in sorrow.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

She left that room as soon as she could.

Feeling her determination sinking into the pit of her chest, she stepped out of the secretive meeting chamber with her head hung low in defeat. There was nothing she could do to save him, finally rendering her hopeless. Stepping away into the winding corridor lit by the dim lights of the night, she started on her path home. She failed, she thought - without even given a chance. She had no choice but to sit and wait for any news on the Kazekage and his whereabouts, her gut churning in its anxiety as she feared the worst was upon them.

She could not shake the feeling.

"Nomasaki,"

Jolting from the voice, she turned towards the chakra she sensed close to her whereabouts. "T-Temari-senpai!" She spoke, wide-eyed – surprised to see her friend at such an hour that night. "What are you doing here?"

"I should say the same to you," Temari scoffed, walking towards her. Pausing before her, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, her green eyes narrowed at her. "What are you doing lurking around the halls of the mansion at this hour? Shouldn't you be home by now?"

Biting her tongue, Nomasaki averted her gaze. "I'm… not allowed to say." She replied, silently. "Orders from above… I'm sorry."

As Temari examined her saddened expression tainted with guilt, something did not sit right with her. It was painted all over her face - but she could not put her finger on exactly what it was. Since they have known each other, she always had her wits about her foreign-born friend, but there was always something about her that made her skin crawl with caution.

"You know," She began. "Before we became friends during the jonin training, I was quite suspicious of you. After Gaara recommended you as his assistant, you gained my full trust." Her eyes shot her a somewhat suspecting glare. "But now… I need to test your trust."

Slightly alarmed by her words, Nomasaki glanced at her, her eyes stunned and nervous in their gleam. "What is it, Temari-senpai?"

"I'm gathering a pursuit squad to find Gaara as soon as Kankuro recovers. We need a skilled tracker to guide us." Surprised from her reveal, Nomasaki jolted at her words. "Can I ask you of this? Can I put my trust in you to help find my brother, our Kazekage?"

Looking at her friend's serious expression of determination and bravery, Nomasaki thought about her next move – should she obey and stay within Suna, or should she accompany her friend and rescue their Kazekage? If she was caught disobeying the given orders from the elders, she would certainly be walking on thin ice, but Gaara's life was at stake – there was no telling what may happen to him. However, if she disobeyed, she may be the next Suna shinobi gone missing. Kenzō would see to that, she knew he would. She suddenly remembered her actions from only months ago, the night she saved Gaara from the black-clad assassin. Her mission was not concerning of his safety, but she risked it all nonetheless. Her barred canines did the task, the memory of her changing form coming back to her mind. She risked her own life to save him - going against the very end-tenant of her mission.

And he was her friend.

 _Her friend._

She knew what she had to say.

Her expression turning stern with a gleam of determination, she nodded – accepting the mission. "You have my word, Temari-senpai." She said, quietly. "Please, keep this secret… I don't want the higher-ups to know I'm helping you."

"Understood. We'll leave at dawn... I'll see you there."

As the two kunoichi went their separate ways, Nomasaki left the estate with her chest tight and a lump in her chest. She was making a big mistake, but she knew she would rather die than sit back and do nothing.

This was her chance to prove her worth and repay her debts...


	19. Of the Sand

**Chapter 19  
** **Of the Sand**

* * *

That morning could not have come soon enough.

At the break of dawn, Nomasaki ran alongside Temari as they raced towards the outskirts of the Kazekage's mansion with their assembled team of abled-bodied shinobi. It had been days since Gaara's capture by the Akatsuki, and time was running out. Pausing before the steps towards the clay pathway, the squad panted in the dry desert heat that rose that morning. Sitting before them with his mummified puppet strapped to his back, Kankuro gave a smug smirk towards them. For the first time since his encounter with Sasori of the Red Sands, he was in good health.

"You're late." He chided. "I was waiting for you for nearly an hour."

"It might not seem like it, but I came back as fast as I could." Temari panted. "Any way, you were late sending over a replacement for border patrol! We almost got moved to that responsibility! It's you that screwed up the preparations."

"Hey, I've only just recovered, and already I'm listening to your crap," He scoffed to himself. "Come on, now." Examining the shinobi that surrounded his sister, the sight of the purple-eyed assistant caught his attention. "Hm? Nomasaki, you're here?"

"She's our sensory-guide." Temari spoke for her, as Nomasaki gave a brief nod towards him. "She's going to help us find and rescue Gaara."

His glance becoming serious, he met her timid eyes. "Can you be trusted?"

She felt a chill pass through her from his question.

 _Did he know? Of course not_ , she thought - _how could he?_

Although she was Gaara's assistant, the fact that she ultimately answered to the council was public knowledge. But to what extent was unknown. The thought dancing in her mind, she wondered if his question in loyalty had to do with her birth circumstance - that she was of the snow, not of the sand. Unlike Temari, who she had previously worked alongside, Kankuro was a different story. They interacted very scarcely, but still got along - however, she could always sense his guarded caution whenever he would enter a room. Biting her lip to quell her rising nervousness, she gave a subtle nod towards him.

"Y-Yes -," She began to explain, her voice trailing as she seen Temari step forward.

"Kankuro, she's Gaara's assistant! If he trusts her, then we can trust her."

"Even if we know she also works for the council?" He questioned. "Nomasaki, nothing against you… but the council hasn't exactly been running properly since Gaara's gone missing. You know what I'm talking about, right? We're not exactly leaving with permission, is what I mean to say – we don't want to get found out."

Her eyes turning stern, she gave him a nod – acknowledging the words that were left unsaid. "Yes, I understand. They also don't know I'm embarking with you. Please… don't say anything. I'd highly appreciate you keeping my accompanying you a secret."

Standing up on his feet, Kankuro stretched himself as he prepared to join them. Looking towards the horizon in the distance, he gave a smirk from his painted face. "Alright… let's be off, then."

With a nod, Temari led the way – leading the group of shinobi towards the outskirts of the village in the sands…

* * *

As the sun rose at high noon, the Sunagakure shinobi made it across the vast barren desert of the Land of Wind.

Their footsteps bounded across the endless sand with ease as they could see the silhouette of the encroaching forest in the far distance from their view. Alongside the group was Nomasaki, fully enveloped in her wolf form as her paws struck the hot sands while she dashed across the desert landscape. Although not accustomed to the heat of the desert, she was able to adapt as best as she could. Panting through her fanged jaws helped combat the warmth from her thick coat of white. Wolves were not of the desert, that was for certain. Unlike the cold air of the snowy mountains, the scorching warmth of the Land of Wind was an obstacle she had to surpass – it propelled her towards the forest in her horizon, along with the task of finding the Kazekage.

Reaching the grassy start of the forest, she reverted to her human form as they entered the beginnings of the vast woodland before them. Pausing to catch their breath, she was astounded that a land such as that with a desert could have such a lush forest at its eastern edge. She was only in the Land of Rivers once before, and that was when she near met her end with the group of ninja from Ishigakure – the barbarians. Then she remembered – she was still in the Land of Wind. Sensing an approaching presence close by, Nomasaki whipped her head towards its direction.

"Stand back!"

"What is it?" Temari stepped forward.

Suddenly, in the far distance, a faint howl was heard amongst the winds. Carried from the breeze that danced from the nearby hilltop. Wolves, and they were close. Startled, the other Suna shinobi flinched from the noise.

"W-Wolves?" The Suna ninja – Miroku, stammered. "In our lands?"

"This is a forested region," Another shinobi added. "The forest that stretches between the eastern Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers shares a wolf pack. I've heard stories of travellers falling victim to the beasts… such monsters."

"Hold your tongue," Nomasaki barked, turning towards them. "Wolves are _not_ monsters!"

"How would you know?"

"I am one,"

"Eh?"

Ripping through the air, another wolf beckoned in the distance, howling as if to signify its closeness. It was very close, and much louder than the last. Noticing the other shinobi grow nervous and withdraw their kunai from their packs, Temari shot Nomasaki a stern glance from her emerald eyes while she reached for her fan on her back.

"Nomasaki," She started, calmly. "Can you handle this?"

Stepping forward towards the approaching feral presence, Nomasaki nodded as she came to a pause – her lilac eyes locked upon the darkened thicket. "I think so," She said. "Everyone, stand back!"

While she took a deep breath from her calming exterior, she closed her eyes, sensing the animals approach closer to where they stood in the forest. One by one, the shadowy figures of the wolves appeared from the darkened thicket of the warm woodlands. Their coats varied between greys, blacks, auburns, and whites – each of them unique in their own way. Lucky for them, these wolves were just the common species. Legends in the Land of Frost spoke of direwolves, wolves that near reached the heights of horses with jaws that could rip an arm straight from the socket with a single bite. Such legends had seldom proof, but still persisted in the feared hearts of the travellers who trekked to the lands of the far northeast. In the Land of Winds, wolves had long been extinct – until today. Just as the Suna shinobi thought, the pack of ten wolves who stood growling before them hailed from the forest that was shared between their barren land and the lush Land of Rivers.

Opening her violet eyes, Nomasaki's expression near turned feral as she met the eyes of the alpha, their animalistic eyes of yellow peering straight into hers. Stepping forward, her muzzle snarled silently as her soft features soon disappeared from her face. As she continued to snarl, her muscle tinged and her blood boiled – the change coming over her. With a wince, she shook off her human skin and became enveloped into her familiar coat of white, her clawed paws trotting against the forest floor slowly as she paused before the brown-furred alpha.

A wolf.

Still a good distance apart, the wolves exchanged growls with their ears flat against their heads. Surprising to the Suna shinobi, Nomasaki was slightly larger – dominant. Acknowledging the white wolf's strength, the alpha turned their back towards her, signalling to the others to return to the forest shadows. Her muzzle relaxing, she reverted to her human state as she watched the wolves peacefully depart back towards their home in the woodlands. Turning back to her comrades, she met the stunned and bewildered glances of the Suna shinobi – including Temari and Kankuro.

"That was… something." Kankuro spoke. "How did... you know to do that?"

Shrugging, she gave a light smile. "I never tried that before. I wanted to see if it would work." She answered. "Luckily, it did in our favor."

"Never mind that - how much farther, Nomasaki?" Temari asked, focused on the task at hand. "Can you sense them?"

"We're getting close," Nomasaki said, turning towards her. "It can't be long now."

"Gaara! His chakra!" Kankuro stammered, jolting his memory. "Can you detect it? Any at all?"

Closing her eyes, Nomasaki formed a single hand-sign, entering her wide sensory focus. Trying her best, she pushed herself to search for the faintest remnant of his presence that still lingered. Surprising her, she discovered something. Far off in the distant river-lands a day's journey away, she could sense the faint pulse of his strength hanging on.

"Scarcely,"

Suddenly, she sensed a much larger and more threatening presence close to the Kazekage, nearly overlapping with his. Jolting her, the presence felt as if it were Shukaku itself. At the same time, Gaara's chakra felt as if it were becoming weaker and weaker with each passing moment. Noticing her distress, Temari shot her a concerned glance.

"What is it?"

"It's… strange," Nomasaki spoke, her eyes still shut. "It's fading, almost as if…! No… it can't be…!"

Shocking her, the enormous presence felt as if it was becoming Shukaku – absorbing its strength into its being. Her worst suspicion was confirmed – and his waning strength proved it. She felt as if the air left her body as she took in the mere grasp of its horrid power. The chakra was fading - fading.

"What? What's happening?"

Opening her eyes, Nomasaki turned to her, her expression stern. "Extraction." She answered. "He's in grave danger! The Shukaku is…-!?"

Suddenly, her senses screamed through her mind from the feel of the sinister chakra. Growing larger and more threatening than the leeching essence of the one-tail was another, its chakra burgeoning and becoming stronger each passing moment. It felt as if it had the strength of nearly three Shukaku-like beasts. Chilling her, she shivered in her stance with her eyes widened towards its direction, unknowing of its true nature.

- _What the hell… is that thing…?!_ \- She thought to herself, shaken. - _It feels… alive…!_ -

"Damn it!" Kankuro spat through his grit teeth, taking the lead. "Everyone – move, now! We have to hurry!"

"Nomasaki, are you alright?"

Alerted by the calm voice of her friend, Nomasaki snapped out of her shivering daze. Releasing her palms from the hand-sign, she turned towards her, giving a subtle nod as her lilac eyes were still wide with shock. "Y-Yes," She stammered. "I'm fine. Let's go."

As she departed with her comrades further into the Land of Rivers' forest that afternoon, she was proved to be distracted as an unsuspecting presence lurked beneath her senses. From the shadowed boundaries of the trees, a masked tracked-nin watched her bound through the treetops with the others – the slanted eyes of their vulpine-like mask locked onto her head of gold as she disappeared into the shadows.

Tojiru had a score to settle - one way or another.

* * *

Approaching a clearing while the evening skies soon made their presence known above, the Suna shinobi came to a stop upon reaching the sight of a tree with a white tag placed upon its trunk – the character 'illusion' written upon it. Examining the tag, Kankuro narrowed his eyes at it, trying to decipher what mode of trap it was.

"Temari?"

Pausing behind him, Temari looked up at the inscription that lay upon the tag as well, glaring at it in suspicion. "There's a tag of some sort on that tree," She replied. "A genjutsu trap, as I suspected." Turning back towards the others, she gave a commanding expression. "There should be two more! It appears to be a Three-Sealed Illusion!"

"The Akatsuki is toying with us…" Kankuro scoffed. "Wasting our time like this with beginner jutsu."

Curiously, Nomasaki stepped forward. "What if it's not the Akatsuki? What if… it's someone else?"

"Hm?" Kankuro asked, turning. "What do you mean?"

"It could be placed by someone who wants Gaara-sama gone," Nomasaki added, glancing up at the tag while troubling thoughts entered her mind. Kenzō and his cronies, the resistance she was sworn to abide. She swallowed her own thoughts, her eyes firm on the sealing tag. "Dissidents, maybe."

"There shouldn't be any dissidents within Sunagakure," Miroku spat. "Not since Gaara-sama's appointment as the Fifth Kazekage! The council was screened numerous times! How dare you suggest such a thing!"

"Calm yourself, Miroku! This is not the time for quarreling." Temari shouted, turning back to him. Upon seeing him bite his tongue in frustration, she returned her attention towards the tag that sat perched upon the trunk. "Regardless of who set the trap, we have to approach carefully… even if it's just a nuisance."

"If it's a Three-Sealed Illusion," Kankuro added, calmly. "We would have to remove the tags at the same time for it to be dispelled."

"That's right," Temari agreed. Turning towards her younger brother and sensory guide, she gave a stern glance. "Kankuro, you take the west. Nomasaki, the one ahead. I'll take the east."

Nodding in agreement, the three Suna shinobi took position while the others waited idly by. Beside their respective tags, Nomasaki and Kankuro readied their tags to be removed as they waited for the signal. Standing before her tag, Temari looked back towards them in the distance.

"On the count of three!" She shouted, grasping her tag tightly. "One… two… three!"

Swiftly, each of the three tags were ripped off. However, tearing Nomasaki's tag proved to be a struggle. Part of the tag was still attached to the trunk of her tree after she followed the countdown – startling her. Quickly, she ripped off the remainder, hopping off the tree and landing her feet to the ground below.

* * *

 _Looking around herself, Temari and Kankuro were absent – as were everyone else. In her mind, she could not sense anyone. This was quite peculiar. Wandering through the expanse of the forest, not a single chakra could be detected._

" _Where did… they go?" She asked herself, looking around. "I can't… sense anyone."_

" _You killed me…"_

 _Shocking her, the eerily familiar voice made her freeze in her steps. Slowly, she brought herself to turn towards the direction of the words, swallowing her fear that was rising up into her chest as she did so. Upon seeing the sight, her eyes widened as she could feel the urge to scream creep into her lungs. Upon the cold cave floor in a pool of blood, Gaara lay on his back alone and soaked in crimson. His chest was oozing blood by each breath that passed his lips, a faint line of red leaking from his mouth as he breathed in the frigid air._

 _Death was all around them._

" _Gaara-sama!"_

 _Running towards him, she sat at his side. Desperately, she tried to decode exactly what was happening. While her trembling fingers grazed the bloodstained fabric of his purple flak jacket, she knew she could do nothing to save him. She did not know medical-ninjutsu, she was not a healer, she was not a doctor. All she knew was first-aid, and this was beyond her expertise._

" _You left me to die…" He breathed, weakly, his tone darkening. "I thought… I could trust you…"_

" _What are you talking about? I'm right here!" She stammered, frantically. Looking down at his near-death state, she felt her panicked eyes fill with tears. "G-Gaara-sama, you're bleeding!"_

 _Slowly, he glanced towards her, meeting her widened and frightened eyes. Gaara did not look the way she remembered him. He appeared cold, a shell, a husk of his former self. The kind leader she knew was absent, only the stoned-faced jinchuriki the village feared._

" _I trusted you, Nomasaki… I should've known better than to trust a wolf… a beast…" His tone turning deep, his glance soon became a glare. "An outsider…"_

" _Gaara, I…-," Her voice quivered, overwhelmed with emotion. "I'm of the Sand! I'm -!"_

 _As if possessed, his arm trembled as it rose towards her face, his fingers reaching for her. Glaring into her, his chakra suddenly became detectable, filling her senses with fear of the chakra she knew all too well – Shukaku. Out of nowhere, the beast's chakra erupted from his body in the dark._

" _You killed me… I'll let Shukaku kill you…!"_

 _Suddenly, all around her turned into sand. Before her in the darkness, the sands wrapped around her body while the tailed-beasts eerie glowing eyes gleamed with death before her. Gaara was in control, and he was merciless. Within an instant, the sand surrounding her flew towards her, her vision going dark as the screech of the beast filled the air._

" _Gaara! Please, stop!"_

* * *

"Nomasaki!"

Gasping for breath, Nomasaki jolted violently upon the moss-covered forest floor, her eyes rapidly opening as her body tremored. Regaining her breath, she looked around herself and her fuzzy vision. Before her, she could see the concerned faces of Temari and Kankuro, their details hazy in her newly awakened state. How long was she out?

"Te… Temari-senpai?"

"You passed out suddenly," Temari spoke, relieved. "Are you alright?"

Slowly, she rose from her back, scanning the area around them with frantic and bewildered eyes – hoping the nightmare was over. "Where's the… blood?"

"Blood? What are you talking about?"

"That genjutsu must've knocked you out cold," Kankuro jumped in, a light smile appearing on his face. "I thought you were experienced with some illusions?"

"Nomasaki has zero ability with genjutsu," Temari replied, turning to her brother with a smug smirk. "During our jonin training, I had to be her backup in case she became trapped… just like this."

"Sorry," Nomasaki spoke quietly, averting her glance. "I should've seen right through it…"

Reaching in his pack at his side, Kankuro pulled out a water bottle. Slightly surprising her, she watched him hand it towards her. She was indeed thirsty. The genjutsu severely worn her down, judging by her profuse sweating and disoriented awakening.

"Here, drink this." He said. "We can't have our sensory-guide be dehydrated."

Taking the water bottle in her hands, she gave him a brief nod. Smiling lightly, she opened its cap – ready to take a drink. "Thanks…"

Never before had water tasted so good to her. Relieved that the genjutsu was just that – a genjutsu, she contemplated what awaited for them on their journey to rescue the Kazekage. Were they running out of time? While she sat in the shade while her comrades planned their next move, she narrowed her eyes at the possibility.

Something did not feel right, but she failed to figure out what it was…


	20. Kazekage's Return

**Chapter 20  
** **Kazekage's Return**

* * *

Stirring in her sleep, Nomasaki grew troubled of the things that were befalling her.

Her mission, finding Gaara, the presence that was tailing her – all three of them wrestled amongst each other in her thoughts as she tossed and turned upon the bed of grass underneath her. Rising silently as the scent of embers entered her nostrils, she could tell that it was merely the early hours of morning – the dark sky of the night clashing with the soft blue of the day as she turned towards the horizon. Around her, her comrades lay asleep on their sleeping bags, not a single sound rising from them other than the soft hum of slumber on their breaths.

Making her way towards the heart of the forest farther up the hilltop, she waited within the bushes as she scanned for incoming prey. As her claws dug into the dirt beneath her, an unsuspecting rabbit came into her periphery. While the wolf inched closer in the thicket, a faint snarl escaped its jaws as it arched its back in preparation to strike. As the rabbit turned towards the thicket in alert, it quickly turned itself away – but it was too late. Within an instant, the rabbit became the hunted and soon rested within the white wolf's jaws that morning.

It was ages since she made a hunt – and she missed the excitement it brought her.

Setting up a small fire by the riverside, a human Nomasaki washed off her bloodied hands in the cool waters of the stream with her black sleeves pushed up to her elbows. She forgot how filthy it was to clean the animal – it amazed her how much she forgot. It felt as though an eon passed since she last hunted in the mountains. She used snares and kunai then, she remembered. Sometimes, Hanone would return with a fresh kill of boar for her to cook over the hearth. Keeping a watchful eye over her kill, she breathed easy that the wolf did not accompany her to save Gaara. Hanone would have none of that. He would most likely return himself to his scroll on his own will - as he would do from time to time. Hanone appeared when he saw fit - and leave when he saw fit. Such a stubborn beast, she thought - not wanting to imagine his reaction to her departure.

Returning to the firepit, she stoked the flames with a stick as she examined the cooking of the meat – waiting for it to become crisp and ready for eating. Surely her team would not mind if she was late. Then, it came back – the presence she felt only hours ago was once again right under her nose. It chilled her instantly, her body jolting as she sensed their looming presence on the cool winds. Standing up on her feet, she turned to face them, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"You know, having a fire can attract enemies. Didn't you learn that when you were a genin?"

Glaring at the masked man as he approached from the thicket, she stood her ground as he circled her. As Kenzō's right-hand, he also acted as if he were a vulture. Fitting, she thought to herself.

"What do you want, Tojiru? As you can see, I have my hands full."

"Oh, I can see that," He remarked. "As do I, yet… here I am."

While he continued to circle her, she examined the cracks of his porcelain mask, watching each curve as he turned his head towards her. His mask was carved into the likeness of a fox, its slanted eyes of trickery boring through her as she refused to show her back to him – following his charade by the flowing river. He had a reason for showing up – and she knew exactly what it was.

"Why aren't you wearing your mask? You said you were on a mission, didn't you?"

"I… forgot it."

"Lie. You should know you can't fool me,"

Swiftly, he whipped out his katana from his sheath on his back, its silver blade gleaming in the scattered rays of the rising sun. Edging closer to her, his circling became more sinister as he pointed the sharpened blade towards her, preparing to make his snake-like strike at the traitor.

"Any last words?"

Standing her ground, she clenched her fists at her sides, containing her fear for her imminent fight with her estranged comrade. She had no weapon, she had no kunai – she left them at the campsite. All she had were her bare hands and her jutsu – and the wolf within. _A wolf is not afraid_ , she remembered, _a wolf devours fear_. She prepared herself, entering her combat stance into the dirt.

"Very well,"

Dashing towards her, he slashed his katana towards her. Dodging it swiftly, she landed a kick towards his mask – only to be blocked by the blade. Their attacks cancelling each other out, they distanced themselves on the secluded forested battlefield. Forming a series of hand-signs, Tojiru called forth a water-release jutsu – the dense waters from the stream shooting out from the river towards her in great speed. Sensing this, she countered with an earth-release defense – summoning a wall of earth from the forest floor, shielding her from the water attacks. Quickly, her masked foe leapt over her defense and landed behind her, swinging his katana to her back.

Turning, she dodged it by a hair, jumping underneath it. Before he could react, she grabbed the hilt from his palm and turned his blade against him, piercing him through the neck as he coughed blood through his grinning vulpine mask.

As he collapsed to the ground below, she fell to her knees – distraught by what she had done. On his back, his mouth spurted blood, painting his all white mask into a mess of crimson and death. She landed a fatal blow onto a comrade – Kenzō's right-hand, of all people. A comrade. Her second kill - a shinobi she shared duties with. Her widened eyes frantic at the blade she thrust into him. His bloodied lips quivering, he shook with his final gasps of breath.

"Traitor… You… traitor…!"

"Tojiru,"

He knew – he knew everything. Shocked, she stared at his corpse as the air left his mouth for the final time. Before her, her comrade lay in a pool of blood, and it was all her doing. Had she been found out by Kenzō already? She was not willing to stick around to find out – there could be more after her. After saying her final rites silently to her fallen, she shoved his lifeless body into the river, watching him disappear into the fast flowing waters that led into the heart of the Land of Rivers – suitable burial for a tracker-nin such as he was, lost forever to the waters below.

She could never go back...

* * *

As she returned to the campsite with the cooked rabbit-meat, she noticed her comrades were already awake.

She misjudged their sleeping, and the evidence was right in front of her. Startled slightly by her sudden appearance from the thicket, Temari turned towards her as she was packing up her things.

"Nomasaki! Where were you?" She stammered, bewildered. "We woke up and you were gone."

"Oh," Nomasaki began, averting her glance. "I was… hunting. Here,"

Examining the cooked rabbit with a suspicious glance from her green eyes, Temari looked up to her. "Alright, I guess we should eat before we head out."

As the Suna shinobi gathered as a group to share the cooked rabbit, Temari caught herself analyzing the appearance of her strange ally. As she looked over her clothes, she noticed there was a small spurt of blood splashed upon the black fabric of her pants, the crimson gleaming on her leg from the scattered sunlight of the tree leaves above. It was clearly too much blood to simply come from a mere rabbit – it had to have come from something else. Narrowing her gaze, she grew suspicious of her recent absence into the woods.

She was hiding something.

* * *

Stopping within the grassy plains of the enemy's territory, the group of Sunagakure shinobi led by Temari paused.

As she stood against the soft winds of the grassy hillside, Nomasaki closed her eyes and formed a hand-sign – entering deep focus. Within her senses, she scanned the area for any signs of life. Her mind bounded endless within her reach, to the hills, to the plains, and to the rivers. Suddenly, her lilac eyes jolted open as she could begin to detect distant chakras within their reach – all of them familiar in a strange yet comforting way. It had to be them.

Noticing her expression of shocked relief, Temari turned towards her. "What is it?" She asked, urgently. "Do you detect something, Nomasaki?"

Nodding, Nomasaki focused her senses towards the far east of where they stood, sensing the scattered chakra of their Konoha allies along with one of their own – the familiar elderly woman who at first refused to help. They were all together within the same region, congregating on a distant grassy hilltop only kilometers away. They were resting, she concluded.

"It's the Konoha shinobi… and Chiyo-sama!" She replied. "I can sense them!"

Suddenly, her heart fluttered in her chest upon sensing the chakra – _that_ chakra. There was no mistaking it, it was _him_. The Fifth Kazekage was alive. Although only a faintly beating presence, she could feel the vague but obvious chakra of the one they were searching for – although something felt strange to her. Something felt ominously off, but she could not put her finger on it.

"I… I think I can start to sense Gaara-sama!"

"What?!" Kankuro shouted, whipping his head towards her. "Are you certain?"

"It has to be," She nodded, ending her hand-sign. "There's no mistaking it. I can feel his chakra, but just faintly. It's him."

Averting her gaze, she pondered about what she could also feel in that area with her kekkei genkai – the fading presence that would inevitably reach its end, both surprising her and saddening her as she sensed its dying aura. The other familiar chakra she sensed was depleting – and fast. Death was soon evident, and judging by the chakra signature, it was only a matter of time.

- _But… Chiyo-sama's chakra is… disappearing…_ -

Facing the squad of Suna shinobi before her, Temari stood before them – her expression serious yet determined in nature. "Then let's get a move on!" She commanded. "Quickly, everyone! Our Kazekage needs us!"

As the team of Suna shinobi sprung forward towards the grasses, Nomasaki stood still in silence. Watching the backs of her comrades, she wondered if she in fact made a dire mistake. Tojiru would never bother her again - but his absence would make Kenzō highly suspicious as a result. She had led her comrades into uncertain danger from her impulsivity. Despite the relief she felt from Gaara's faint chakra on the winds, her eyes held onto dread as her mind replayed the events from the morning.

"Nomasaki?"

Turning from the voice, she saw Temari giving her a narrowed glance in curiosity. Distracted from her thoughts, she met her green eyes with a timidly-held greeting. There was a hidden tension to her eyes, guarded by her slate expression of duty. Thankful for her friendship from their jonin training together, Nomasaki felt her gut twist with discomfort as she remembered the sight of Tojiru's body drifting down the forested river. She owed her friend more than secrets - especially secrets that involved her own flesh and blood. She wanted to tell her everything that was troubling her - Kenzō's plans, her hidden treachery, and Tojiru's murder. There was no telling how she would take it, but she knew that Temari would rush to Gaara's side to inform him of everything - increasing the danger to them both. Not to mention, their relationship would forever be shattered.

 _If_ Gaara was found - and found alive, she reminded herself.

The mere thought of him not surviving his capture made her feel a swell of emptiness and grief, startling her greatly. As his dutiful assistant and sensory-tool, she held the young Kazekage in high regard and respects. But her previous budding friendship with the young leader was beginning to take first place in her order of internal titles. She was his friend first, his assistant second. Since coming closer to him after the first year of his reign, she sensed an air of kindness and wisdom within him that surprised her. The silent shinobi with the brooding ringed-eyes was becoming a dignified young leader, and he had all of her unwavering respect and admiration.

She did not know what pained her more - the chance of him dying at the hands of the Akatsuki, or him finding out she was a spy of the resistance.

What made her all the more disturbed with herself was the memory that she drew blood only days before. Never having killed anyone in her young life, her kind heart trembled inside from the recollection of her fast-thinking counter to the ninja controlled by the jutsu of Sasori of the Red Sands - one of Gaara's captors. Her hands were bloodied by his fall, her mind unable to remember his name. Although a sleeper agent put inside a trance, her heart felt weakened from taking his life. Second-thoughts of her chosen path soon followed, reminded of her weaknesses and her falters as a rookie tracker-nin. Even in death, Tojiru's taunts towards her character cut her pride like a rusted blade.

Looking back to the grassy fields of green as the winds blew past, Nomasaki's glance saddened. "Temari-senpai," She began, her tone low. "I think I understand now..." Moving her eyes towards the horizon, she narrowed her eyes. "The higher-ups... they pushed me through to jonin-level where I clearly wasn't ready."

"What do you mean?" Temari questioned. "You have the skill. Your sensory abilities are like none other I've come across, at least."

Swaying the flaps of her flak jacket, Nomasaki kept her gaze fixated ahead. The words grew heavy in her heart. "I can track, that's for certain. But... let's be honest - if I had stayed in my homeland, I would have never thought twice of becoming a shinobi. I... don't think I was cut out for it." Hanging her head low, she closed her eyes in shame. "I haven't even made my first kill until that night when the Akatsuki attacked... How could they promote someone like me to jonin rank? It doesn't make any sense."

"It doesn't have to make sense," Temari answered. "Sunagakure needs as many shinobi as it can muster, especially right now. You're an outsider... from a village that no one remembers. The fact that they took you in as they did should be able to tell you enough." Turning to her friend, her glance grew sympathetic. Putting aside her prior suspicions for a moment, she looked upon the strange-eyed foreigner with understanding. "Killing doesn't make you a shinobi - it makes you a killer. What makes you a shinobi is your strength to put your life on the line for your comrades." Following her gaze to the fields, a light smile appeared on her lips. "That's what you're doing now, right? You came of your own free-will to save Gaara, my brother."

Catching her by surprise, Nomasaki turned towards her.

"Remember - you were Gaara's first choice for his assistant." Temari finished. "He recognizes you as someone fit to bear the title of 'shinobi'."

Finding herself smiling, she returned her gaze to the field. "I... guess you're right. Thanks, Temari-senpai."

"Now," Starting down the hill, Temari looked up to her. Her expression was smug in determination once more. "Let's go find Gaara. He can tell you himself what he thinks of it, and I'm sure he'll be relieved to see us at his side."

"Right," Nomasaki nodded, smiling lightly. "Let's catch up with the others."

After a communal nod, the two kunoichi of Suna departed through the grassy landscape – heading towards their leader's chakra marker…

* * *

 _Deep within the awakening abyss of his psyche, Gaara slowly opened his eyes as he could hear a voice beckon to him._

 _"…Gaara …Gaara!"_

 _–…Who…? Who is he calling…?- He thought to himself, as he began to slowly flicker his eyes open, feeling the warmth of the white air around him as he stood in the void. Closing his eyes to the call, he gave in to the black, his eyes perceiving absolutely nothing but the dark, empty realm._

* * *

Suddenly, his ringed-eyes of turquoise widened as he felt someone touch his shoulder, the darkness fleeing from his vision.

In surprise, he turned his head back to see the one who awakened him from his sleep. Beside him, Naruto sat close by, his ocean blue eyes closed halfway in joyful sadness.

"…Gaara…" He spoke, quietly, his lips forming a gentle smile of relief as he seen his friend rejoin the living once more.

"Naruto…!" Gaara spoke, his voice quiet – weakened from his deep slumber.

Gathering himself, he looked around where he sat – his eyes widening from the sight. Surrounding him on the grassy field of the Land of Rivers was nearly a hundred Sand ninja - his villagers. Close by were the shinobi from Konoha and his siblings, coming to his immediate aide in both concern and great joy.

"What is this?"

Happily, Naruto smiled, masking his past grief for his loss. "We all came running," He replied, with a soft chuckle. "To your rescue! You had us worried!"

"You sure did!"

When Naruto and Gaara turned, they saw Kankuro stepping towards them with his hands placed in his pockets. "You caused us a ton of grief, little brother." He said, a relieved smile on his painted face.

Nearby, Temari smirked to herself for a moment at their exchange. "Don't act so superior." She scoffed, somewhat annoyed. "Gaara is the Kazekage! Shut all your mouths… you brats!"

Annoyed by her lecture, Kankuro glared at his older sister while Naruto looked on in slight embarrassment. Leaning in closer to her youngest brother, she examined his current state of weakness – watching him slowly regain control of his movements with a concerned glint in her green eyes.

"Gaara, how are you feeling?"

Slowly, Gaara tried to stand, his hand trembling on his knee as he tried to prop himself up from his seated position – gritting his teeth as he could feel weakness tremor throughout his limbs. Surrendering, he relaxed his muscles, accepting that he did not yet possess the strength to stand on his own. Although he had cheated death, his body was still facing the repercussions.

"You shouldn't move so suddenly," Temari advised, her eyes narrowing at his panting appearance in the grass. "Your body hasn't fully recovered from the rigor mortis yet."

Slumping back down, he decided to ultimately save his strength – still shaken by his previous bout of battle with the Akatsuki and the effects of the extraction jutsu that left a numb hole in his mind – his mind not yet able to process exactly what happened.

"Gaara-sama,"

Surprised from the quivering soft voice, Gaara turned towards the call. Standing in the crowd of onlooking Suna ninja that surrounded him, Nomasaki stood with her hands clasped in front of her chest with her lilac eyes glistening with forming tears. Never had he seen her cry before, the sight startling him from his sudden awakening. Surprised and confused as to what was currently going on, he stared at her with a blank expression of bewilderment.

"Nomasaki," Gaara spoke, quietly. "Why are you…-?"

To his surprise, she suddenly embraced him in her arms, burying her sobbing face into his shoulder to muffle her tears of joy. Although her embrace was sudden, it was also careful and trembling. The warmth of her flak jacket radiated into his cold clothes and skin, alarming him of his brief departure from the living. Holding him close, her tightly shut eyes desperately tried to contain her tears, but they nonetheless persisted down her cheeks.

"I missed you…!" She whispered, her voice broken by her tears. "So much…! I was so worried…"

As she silently sobbed into him while she held him close, Gaara's eyes widened from her hold – surprised and unable to process the affection and relief she displayed to him, but he was accepting. When Naruto saw them, he smiled warmly – knowing full well how worried she truly was about the Kazekage and her pleas for his rescue. She was his assistant, but she was also something worth much more - she was his friend. Close by, Kankuro and Temari gave them soft smiles with sympathetic glances, relieved that the situation had finally come to an end.

The young Kazekage was saved, and most importantly - he was alive.

Suddenly, Nomasaki's senses jolted through her mind – unable to detect a certain sinister and powerful presence. "Wait," She said, as she let go of him – looking at him in deep concern. "Your chakra! I can't sense Shukaku anymore… What happened?"

While he sat before her, he mulled over her question, wracking his mind for an answer that would not come. Suddenly, his ringed-eyes widened greatly as flashes of his memory flew before him – his descent from the desert sky, the crumbling of his sand armor, the agony caused by the extraction jutsu, and his untimely young death – his vision then suddenly returning from the darkness as he awoke surrounded by his comrades. He could hardly absorb his recollections, stunned by the fact that he had Shukaku removed from his body permanently.

"That's right." He said, as he realized what happened. "The Akatsuki… they took it, and it… killed me. They stole Shukaku…"

Shocking her, her eyes filled with concern at his words, completely aghast by his reveal. Had he truly died and was brought back? The thought frightened her to her core, but deep down she wondered if it was true.

"Are you… alright?" She asked, worriedly. "Can you still use the sand?"

Looking at his hands, he watched his fingers move as he opened and closed his palms – examining his muscle responses to his desire for normal movement. "I'm not certain, but… that can come later." He stated, marveled by his moving hands after remembering his death. "I'm… still surprised I'm here right now."

As she watched him gather himself on the grassy hillside, she looked upon him with a perplexed and somewhat frightened tint to her lilac eyes – her mind shaken by the thought of his tailed-beast extraction and his death at the hands of the Akatsuki – and his evident resurrection. Through her senses, his chakra felt different to her than their last interaction, as the once-burgeoning presence of Shukaku could no longer be felt at all, its threatening presence absent - it truly was stolen. As she sat before him, she could feel his chakra in the air around them, her body calming as she took in its presence – it felt warm and secure to her now and was his chakra alone.

Surrounding them as they sat lost in their own thoughts, the Sunagakure shinobi in the crowd rejoiced, relieved to see their leader was safe…


	21. Resolve

**Chapter 21  
** **Resolve**

* * *

Brightly, the morning light of the dawn broke through the curtains that were unevenly closed in the Kazekage's quarters.

Sleeping silently, Gaara lay on his back under the sheets of his bed – the first time he slept in years. Without Shukaku inflicting upon him his insomnia, the Kazekage was free to sleep as much as he wished – something he was not used to once in his young life. Although resurrected by the forbidden technique created by Chiyo the Elder, his body had not yet regained its full natural state, leaving him extremely weakened. Astounding anyone who heard of his rescue, he might possibly have been the only person in Sunagakure to be successfully brought back to life. Unfortunately, he did not remember the Pure Land. All he saw was black, the darkness – just as he saw in sleep. Resting silently, he allowed his body to regain what it had lost.

At his bedside was his dutiful assistant, sitting silently on a wooden chair near the window. Carefully, she watched him rest with worried and guilt-ridden eyes. With each passing breath, she noticed the faint rising and falling of his chest cavity – making sure he was still alive. Ever since she returned from the Land of Rivers, she lay awake in fear of Kenzō finding out her actions. Rescuing the Kazekage against his orders was one thing – killing his right-hand was another. Although she never liked Tojiru, she never wanted to kill him – but she reminded herself that she had no other choice. It was either kill Tojiru, or face the consequences of disobeying Kenzō's commands. Kill or be killed, the unfortunate fate of shinobi.

To make matters worse, she could not shake away the guilt that tainted her thoughts as she looked at the weakened Kazekage before her. Kenzō had commanded her to kill him if things came to an impasse, and she still could not believe the words that escaped his lips as he said so to her in that darkened chamber. _Kill him_ \- the words sounded more chilling as time went on. Finding her father to seek out the cure to her hatred that festered deep in her heart was one thing - betraying Gaara was another. Even as she sat at his bedside while he slept, she realized how easy it would be to make it appear as if he passed in his sleep. There were pillows littered behind his head, and if that failed the kunai in her sleeve could do the job, albeit a messier end.

 _No_ , she decided, _I would never_.

The dye was cast, her choice warming her cold and paranoid heart. If it were the only way to meet her estranged father, she would choose to accept she would never find him at all. Her loyalty to Gaara was more important - his friendship. She knew she could never bring herself to do it even if her life depended on it, not even if Kenzō held the blade to her own throat, she would sooner choose her own death to end it all. A traitor deserved a traitor's death, whether it be beheading, exile, or life imprisonment. She was better than that of a traitor, and Gaara did not deserve such a fate - nor did she. She was going to protect him from Kenzō – that was what she decided, and that was what she was going to do – even if it killed her.

As she gazed at his peaceful state, she felt comforted. He was alive – and he was going to live. Although he no longer had Shukaku, that meant he would finally be safe from Kenzō after all – and her assignment would inevitably come to an end. All she had to do was be patient. Curiously, she wondered what he felt like. His skin, his red hair – to be close with him. His chakra felt so comforting to her now, so warm – so safe. Her thoughts startled her, crossing her mind as if out of nowhere. Desperately, she tried to shake them, but they persisted. How strange, she thought to herself – why at such a time? Her curiosity getting the better of her, she cautiously reached out to his chest to check his breathing once more. Slowly, her fingers edged closer.

A thin stream of sand appeared as if from nowhere – blocking her touch within the air above him.

Surprising her, she jerked her hand away. Despite Shukaku's absence, his Ultimate Defense was still effective – a relief, she thought. Slowly, Gaara stirred in his bed. Rising from his slumber, he opened his ringed-eyes. Flinching from his sudden awakening, she watched timidly as his eyes slowly drifted their glance towards her. Weakly, he appeared relieved to have seen her.

"You're here…"

"Don't push yourself," She replied, her expression concerned. "You've been through a lot."

"Did the council send for you?"

"Yes, actually." She nodded. "They wanted me to… monitor your progress. Also,"

With a loud thud, she dropped what appeared to be ten pounds worth of paperwork upon the table beside him. Catching his attention, he eyed the pile with bewilderment as she grimaced to herself in slight awkwardness.

"You fell behind on your paperwork, so I'm here to help you finish it."

"Damn them…" He sighed to himself, turning his glance back towards the ceiling. "I'm still… unable to move and they expect me to do that? The bastards…"

Her expression appearing concerned once more, she glanced towards his fatigued state. "How are you… feeling?"

"I'm alive, that's all I know. In a way… I feel sort of… empty…"

"Empty?"

"I'm going to sound strange, but… it doesn't feel the same without Shukaku."

Looking down at her lap, she pondered her words carefully. "That's not strange," She said. "It makes sense. Your chakra was always connected with another, and now…-,"

Catching her attention, she could feel his gaze upon her. Looking up, she saw the gleam of his turquoise eyes from the brightening sun. Startling her slightly, she felt her chest flutter briefly as she grew flustered from his stare. It was a strange day, that was for sure - all these feelings coming from nowhere jolted her mind as she attempted to push them to the back of her thoughts.

"What is it?"

Turning his gaze back to the ceiling, he entered his thoughts once more. "You're… understanding. Thank you… for that." He said, quietly. "Temari and Kankuro told me what you did. You led them… to the Land of Rivers… where I was… Why?"

Her head hung low as she gathered her thoughts, her eyes closed halfway in held guilt and sadness. "You're our Kazekage," She answered. "You were captured. Sunagakure would have been lost and at risk of war if we didn't find you in time." Gathering her inner courage, she lifted her head and looked him in the eyes, her glance appearing almost pleading to him, striking his curiosity. "You're… too important to lose."

"I take it you repaid the favor, then. From that time, two years ago..."

Surprising her slightly, she was astounded that he remembered their encounter that day long ago. Looking down at her lap, she found herself warmed for a moment as a soft smile curved on her lips. She was so brave back then, she thought - a genin rookie taking part in those exams against many threatening foes. Upon crossing his path, the words she spoke to him surprised her as she remembered them in her thoughts.

' _Someday, I'll repay the favor_.'

She did keep her word to him - and for once, her heart felt fulfilled. He saved her from her abduction by the Ishigakure shinobi back then, when no one else would. Accompanied only by a reluctant Hanone, Gaara fought her kidnappers and rescued her from her certain death by the hands of those who wanted her bloodline. It was only appropriate that she returned the favor by helping his siblings find him in the weaving forests of the Land of Rivers when he was taken hostage by the Akatsuki. Hanone would certainly snarl towards her once she revealed to him what she done, she thought - his distaste for the Kazekage only growing stronger over time. Glancing back to him as he lay in bed, she gave a subtle nod.

"I suppose you can say that."

"And…-," He began hesitantly, his tone quiet as his gaze grew troubled. "Chiyo-sama?"

"Her funeral is tomorrow. The allies from Konoha will be departing after the burial."

"I see. In that case,"

Weakly, he slowly lifted himself up from his resting position, sitting up upon his mattress as his messy head of red hair mopped upon his head. Dressed in a plain white shirt as he sat up in his rarely used bed, she was startled but also amused by his casual appearance. Always dressed in the Kazekage's garb or his burgundy shinobi attire, the sight of seeing him dress 'normal' was something she thought she would never see. Turning towards the pile of paperwork, he let out a silent sigh, then looked towards her – a faint smile present on his lips.

"We should get to work."

Nodding, she smiled back at him timidly. "Yes, sir."

* * *

Clutching the completed paperwork against her chest as she entered the Kazekage's vacant office that late morning, she placed all the papers into their respective piles on his desk – readying them for filing when he was feeling better. As she closed the office door behind her, she suddenly sensed a familiar presence approach her from the opposite end of the hallway. Walking towards her with a friendly smile etched upon her face was Temari. Despite her calm appearance, she could feel tension and unease just from the mere gleam of her emerald eyes as she paused before her in the corridor. She was good at hiding it, she thought - and it made her heart skip a beat within her shivering chest.

"There you are," She spoke, pausing. "I take it my brother is resting well?"

"Y-Yes," Nomasaki nodded, timidly. "He's… doing much better."

"That's a relief." She sighed. "I'm still surprised he managed to survive that ordeal. Well… thanks to Chiyo-sama's sacrifice." Nodding towards her, she gave a genuine smile. "I wanted to thank you for what you did back there. Without you, we would've surely not have made it in time to save Gaara."

"N-No, don't," Nomasaki assured, nervously. "I was just your guide. I didn't really do anything… Really."

Snickering to herself, Temari placed her hands upon her hips as she pondered to herself in amusement. "It's funny. You always get so modest around him, even at the mere mention of him. Why is that?"

Instantly, a streak of red became visible upon Nomasaki's face. Flustered by her friend's words, she tried her best to contain herself, but to no avail - her stutter escaped despite her efforts. "N-No, I-I… -,"

"I'm only kidding, Nomasaki." Temari chuckled to herself. Turning towards the opposite end of the hall, she gave a parting wave. "Anyways, I have to go to the Intel Division. I'll be seeing you."

"A-Alright," Nomasaki nodded, swallowing her embarrassment. "Bye, Temari-senpai."

"Before I go,"

Temari's tone changed. It had a frigid tinge to it, chilling her in her steps. Bringing herself to meet her gaze, Nomasaki silently gulped - hoping to contain herself and her fear from the shift in emotion. As she stopped in the hallway, Temari looked back to her with her eyes narrowed towards her in held suspicion.

"I need to ask," Temari began, stern and calm. "When you embarked with us on our mission to find Gaara... were you followed?"

She felt her heart pound in her chest. She knew.

"There was blood on your clothes when you returned with that rabbit. It was more than what would be with a kill that small... were you hiding something from us?"

Attempting to mask her shocked discomfort, Nomasaki remained calm in her frozen stance. While her mind grasped for words to bring to the forefront, her lips failed to bring an answer. She had to be honest - but Kenzō had his listeners everywhere. Nowhere was safe. He had tens of tracker-nin under his command across Suna, both within and outside the Kazekage's mansion - directly under everyone's noses, including Gaara himself. Her violet eyes narrowing slightly, she held on to her glance while she gathered the confidence to speak.

"An adversary," She replied. "Nothing more. I didn't want to cause a ruckus, especially during such a crucial time."

From her answer, Temari folded her arms across her chest as her glare eased and turned curious. "You should've told us if that was the case, we could've helped."

"I'm sorry. I... didn't want to trouble you."

For a moment, Temari gave her a glance mired in curious suspicion as she examined the pleading gleam of her friend's violet eyes. With a sigh, she relaxed her stance and turned back towards her exit. With a brief wave, she turned back towards her with a neutral smile etched on her lips. Retaining her suspicion, she hid it behind her calm green eyes while the troubling thoughts of her friend and ally returned to her mind.

"Alright, if you say so. I'll see you later."

That was close.

As she watched her friend depart, Nomasaki could sense someone watching her movements from beyond the shadows of the nearby corridor. Turning towards the direction of the presence, she narrowed her eyes. Kenzō, she thought – of course. Turning the opposite direction, she began on her path towards the shadows.

* * *

Within the darkened confines of the chamber, Nomasaki stood silently before the dissident councillor, his darkened eyes narrowed towards her emotionless expression before him. With a blank expression upon her face, she stood emotionless as she met his glare from the opposite end of the room. Surrounding the perimeter of the room were his tracker-nin, their masked figures guarding each path for escape. Seeing them within the shadows irked her, sending a chill down her spine. Although they were technically her comrades, in that room they could be her enemies. Remaining reluctantly optimistic, she hoped they never noticed Tojiru's absence.

"And you can confirm this?"

"Yes," She nodded. "The Kazekage is alive… and Shukaku has been extracted. It is now in the possession of the Akatsuki."

"Good," He sighed. "That filth is finally gone… However, the former jinchuriki still lives. Why is that?"

"Because… Chiyo-sama used the Resurrection Jutsu?"

"You didn't kill him."

His words irked her. Shocking her, she watched him approach from the front of the room. She hated when he would do that. It took all her might to not retaliate, and she dreaded what he would do if he came close to her like last time. Like a vulture circling carrion in the desert, he paced around her with arms folded at his back.

"Was I supposed to?" She brought herself to ask, biting her tongue.

"No, but you've certainly had your chance." He chided. "Remember, you have your mission to complete."

"My mission?" She repeated, confused. "But I thought that if Shukaku was taken, it would…-,"

"End, yes… but I'm not done using you just yet. So, tell me…-," Pausing behind her, he stood in her shadow, watching her shiver from behind. "Where was it you vanished off to while our Kazekage was missing? I sent my right-hand Tojiru to find you and he hasn't returned. It would be a shame if… you defied my commands." Placing his fingers at her neck, he grinned at her from the darkness – grazing her jugular vein. "You know what would happen to you if you did… Am I not correct?"

She gulped, attempting to ease her breath. "Y-Yes, sir."

"What was that?"

"Yes."

Retracting his hand away from her, he returned to the front of the room – refusing to look at her any further. "That's what I thought. Now go, get out of my sight. I have no further time to waste here with you today."

Briefly, she glanced towards him as she left the darkened room, closing the door behind her. Her heart desperately wished for the day where she could leave that room behind, but she felt as if it were impossible. As she stepped into the corridor, she intended to reach her home before being cornered by another unfortunate encounter. There were eyes on her from the shadows, and she made haste to avoid them all. Unbeknownst to her, a pair of green eyes witnessed her leave the corridor with a narrowed glance. There was always something about Kenzō that made Nomasaki shiver in her senses, distracting herself from the chakra of those most familiar to her. For Temari, it played out to her advantage. Her worst fears realized, Temari saw to that she tell the Kazekage - once he was recovered.

* * *

That next morning, Gaara and his siblings stood clad in their black funeral clothes along with the departing Konoha shinobi before the gravesite of the fallen Chiyo. Close by, Nomasaki stood, keeping an eye on things and paying her respects silently. Never having attended a Sunagakure funeral before, she was surprised to learn that they bury their dead while clad in black. In Yamagakure where she hailed, they would bid their fallen farewell with a great funeral pyre while they stood in silent prayer dressed in white, burying the ashes in the mountain graveyard near the silent forest of ice. That was how her mother was laid to rest, anyways – as she remembered. Fidgeting her skirt as she stood in the ceremony, she was definitely not used to their customs.

After the burial, it was time for the shinobi from Konohagakure to return to their home to the far east. Standing still in silent prayer, Naruto and Sakura paid their final respects to Chiyo while the others waited.

"Sakura, Naruto," Rock Lee called. "We're about to leave now."

"Right!" Naruto called back. Sympathetically, he turned to his teammate who was still mourning her loss. "Let's get going, Sakura."

Exchanging a final glance towards the gravestone, the pink-haired kunoichi followed her comrade and joined the other Konoha shinobi. Before joining them at the gates to bid the farewell, Gaara stayed behind and visited Chiyo's resting place – with his assistant standing beside him. For a long moment, Gaara stood in silence while glancing at the tombstone – mourning without exchanging a single word or conveying a single emotion. Turning to him, Nomasaki gave him a concerned glance.

"Are you alright, Gaara?" She asked.

"She gave her life for mine… My life," He started, his gaze unwavering from the grave. "The life of a feared jinchuriki cursed to live an existence of anguish and loneliness…" Turning towards her, he looked into her concerned lilac eyes with a stoic gleam to his seafoam eyes. "I… don't think I told you this, but… she was the one who performed the sealing jutsu on me to bind me with Shukaku." Looking back to the gravestone, his glance narrowed. "My father, the Fourth Kazekage was insistent, and my mother… died. Chiyo-sama used the Resurrection Jutsu… and brought me back. Her final act was… repentance, if anything."

"She gave her life not just for you, but for the village." She said, quietly, following his gaze. "She… did the right thing." Looking down at herself, her eyes closed halfway in shared sorrow. "She never liked me, but… I always respected her. She will be missed."

"Tell me, Nomasaki,"

Catching her curiosity, she turned to him. Without looking towards her as he spoke, he kept he gaze locked upon the tombstone of the deceased elder. Lost in his thoughts, he wanted a different approach to his own, and was curious of the opinions of others.

"Why is it that people chose to redeem themselves when they're on the brink of death?"

Looking back at the gravesite, her eyes saddened. "I can't say I'm speaking from experience, but… perhaps it's because they want to leave a legacy. They want to right the wrongs they've made while living, so that the next generation can live in peace."

After a moment of silence passed between them, she gathered her courage once more – ready to share her true thoughts regardless of her fear. She was taking the risk, and she was ready for it.

"You're the Kazekage, our village's hope for the future."

Turning back to her, he looked at her saddened expression with a surprised glint to his ringed-eyes. Bravely, she met his gaze, her violet eyes appearing strong to him in the desert sunlight. A sight rarely seen to him, her change in demeanor made him curious.

"I may not have said this aloud to you, but… I consider you a friend." She revealed, a light smile forming on her lips. "I may be your assistant, but you're my friend above all else. I watch your back and make sure you keep a level-head." Looking down, her sadness returned once more. Pondering her choice in words, she met his gaze again – putting her nervousness aside. "Trusting in others is also difficult… but I trust you."

Warmed and comforted by her words, he gave her a nod in acknowledgement. Humbled, he gave a soft smile towards her – a sight rarely ever seen from someone as stoic as himself. Since they were genin, he always appreciated her kindness. As his assistant, he was honored to be surrounded by someone so caring, but even more honored to be able to call her a friend. He held high respect for her, and always did.

"Thank you, Nomasaki."

"We should meet the others at the gates," She smiled, gesturing behind them. "They'll be departing to the Land of Fire soon."

"Right,"

As she walked towards the village exit, she could still sense his chakra behind her. Pausing in the sands, she turned back towards him with a curious expression on her porcelain face. Standing alone, the Kazekage was eyeing the sands surrounding him with narrowed eyes and an outstretched arm. Despite his pleas for control, the sand would not budge. Could it be that his powers were gone following Shukaku's extraction? Although it was still too early to find out, the thought bothered him to no end. The more he glared at the sand beneath him, the more his brow furrowed in contained frustration.

"Gaara-sama?"

Upon hearing her soft voice, he snapped out of his daze. Turning towards her, he closed his eyes as he walked off to join her bid their allies from Konoha farewell.

"It's nothing,"

* * *

Standing by the towering village gates by the mouth of the desert, Gaara and his siblings said their goodbyes to their friends from the east. Standing off to the side by the gates was Nomasaki, watching with a soft smile as she witnessed their respected allies return home.

"Safe travels," Kankuro said, a smile on his painted features.

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded, clutching the strap of his backpack. Upon seeing Gaara's glance upon him, he averted his blue eyes awkwardly. "I… guess this is the part where you shake hands and part ways, but I'm bad at that kind of thing, so let's just…-?"

Surprising him, a faint and thin stream of sand surrounded Gaara's outstretched palm. A handshake. Flattered, Naruto smiled, taking his palm into his – signifying their friendship. As their hands parted, Gaara gave a brief nod of his red hair.

"Bye, Naruto." He said, his expression stoic, a faint evident smile on his pale lips.

With a brief chuckle, Naruto gave a short wave. "See ya,"

Finally – at long last, the Konohagakure shinobi could return home. Trekking across the desert path, their footsteps marked their path behind them as they walked in the desert heat. Before the Konoha shinobi could disappear over the horizon, a figure began to approach from behind.

"Wait,"

Catching their attention, they paused for a moment to examine who it was. When Naruto turned to see the person, his eyes widened slightly in familiarity. It was the strange girl he met while Kankuro was being treated by Sakura – the Kazekage's assistant, Nomasaki. Clad in her black funeral garbs, he recognized the strange purple tint to her eyes as she paused before them in the sands.

"Oh?" Naruto smiled. "It's you…-,"

"You kept your promise," She smiled back with a nod. "I just wanted to say thank you, for everything."

"Don't mention it!" He chuckled, humbled. "I saw you at the Land of Rivers, with the Suna shinobi. I think you played a role in it, too. Gaara is safe because we all pitched in together."

Jolting slightly from his choice in words, she realized that his observation may have been correct after all. She risked her life to help find him, and she could not have done it alone. No one could. Softly, she smiled.

"I-I… guess you're right." Turning back towards Suna in the distance, she gave the Konoha shinobi a parting glance. "I must leave you. Until next time,"

As the parties went their separate ways, Naruto thought he could hear the faint sound of a beast. Pausing for a moment, he turned towards the sands behind him – his eyes widening from the sight. Bounding through the sands in the distance where she once stood was a white wolf, dashing towards the village in broad daylight.

Never in his life had he seen such a creature – she was a wolf, after all…


	22. Nightmares

**Chapter 22  
** **Nightmares**

* * *

Many months have passed since the Akatsuki's arrival in Sunagakure…

That winter morning as she lay in her bed, she dreamt about her memories of when she lived in a land of ice and snow - remembering the sheer ease and comfort she sought from the falling snow of the mountains she missed deeply...

* * *

 _The snow was soft as it touched her warm cheeks._

 _Lightly, the tiny clusters of white fell from the skies with the rising winds. The air was smoothed from the familiar crispness of the cold she desperately loved. From every breath that escaped her lungs, she could see its vapor swirl before her. How she missed the sight, she thought – as she warmly smiled towards the falling snowflakes. She felt as if it had been a distant life since she last seen snow – and she had grown tired of sand. For the first time in ages, her heart swelled with the feel of home._

 _As she walked through the world of white, she could see nothing but the scarce remnants of the frosted trees, the snows concealing them from her view. Memories instantly flashed before her mind as she felt the cold chill her through her kimono with the harsh mountain winds. As the winds whipped her golden strands against her face, she trudged through the deep snow of her mountain. Sensing a slight shiver, she surprisingly felt warm. In her blood, she felt the wolf within her awaken as it did that night where she scaled down the mountain in her desperate bid for survival. It saved her in more ways than one – and she was forever grateful for the blood that traveled in her veins. It was because of her mother. That was it, she thought – it was her kekkei genkai that was keeping her warm from the cold of the mountain._

 _Ōkamitoko, the feared bloodline of the ones who called themselves Yamamori. On her mountain as the cold grew heavy with the blistering winds, she remembered the harsh reality of her world as she paused within the snow._

 _She was the last one._

 _All around her was a world of white and silver, much like the one she left behind. In the distance, a wolf howl danced across the frigid winds – and then it was gone…_

* * *

 _Suddenly, within her mind, she awoke in a pit of darkness._

 _As the light began to enter her vision, she felt a strong force grasp onto her, its feel coarse and harsh. Horrified, as she looked down, she saw a rising wave of sand clutching to her legs, binding her to its reach as it began to spread to her thighs and waist. Its grasp was unrelenting upon her, tightening its grip by each passing moment._

 _Feeling a pair of eyes looking at her, she turned to meet Gaara's gaze - but it was not the familiar and dignified face of the Kazekage she knew. His ringed-eyes were evoking a menacing glare onto her, his lips curved into a bloodthirsty grin. He was mired in a version of his past self, a version of him she did not have the grace to meet. He was mad with murder, his expression proved it. Desperately as she tried to escape the creeping sand, she reached out to him as the sands covered her body, clasping onto her hands and encasing her in its suffocation._

" _Gaara!"_

 _He said nothing, his dark smile of mania conveying his thoughts before her vision faded into the black._

 _As she could see nothing but the darkness, she felt a rumbling presence draw near – its bloodthirst chilling her to her core. Before her eyes, the large sand-marked pupils of Shukaku opened in front of her, its beastly wails drowning her sight and hearing as it lunged to attack…_

* * *

Jolting, she suddenly awoke from her recollections, her eyes wide with fear.

Sitting up in her bed, she clasped her palm to her wet forehead in efforts to calm her terror. Since she seen Shukaku emerge, she would have nightmares of its possession – each time being the same. Sometimes even the image of Tojiru's lifeless corpse appeared, drifting down the waters of the rapid river where she buried him. His words were always the same, uttering _"traitor, you traitor"_ over and over again until she awoke in fear and covered in sweat. Paranoia for Kenzō's spies on the wall kept her sleeps restless and scattered, fraught with nightmares of Shukaku, her homeland, Tojiru and everything else. Not even the kunai under her pillow gave her any rest.

As she calmed herself, she could feel the second-hand guilt within her bones for her fear and her lies – feeling utterly helpless as she acted as a covert spy for Kenzō's will. Carrying the burden each day she worked with him, the pressure to maintain the secret deeply conflicted her at times. Her heart wanted her to cry out to Gaara - to tell him everything - to relieve her of her burdens - to free her. But she made an oath as a shinobi, and she knew it was her duty to obey.

Slowly, she lifted herself up from her slumber, stretching and yawning as she stood in front of her mirror - her fangs revealing themselves. The sun was bright that morning, beaming onto the stucco floor of her apartment. Suddenly, felt a funny sensation on her head. When she touched the top of her messy golden hair, she felt her wolf ears sticking through her wispy strands. Looking into the mirror, she frowned to herself, peering at the monster that looked back at her – its saddened wolfish gaze and slanted lilac eyes hurting her. Touching her nose, she felt the tip of her canine nostrils. She looked monstrous to herself, disgusted by her true self. Although proud of her heritage, she was ashamed to appear as she did – wondering if she was ugly, pretty, terrifying, or average. As a young woman who was approaching her seventeenth birthday, she often thought of trivial matters to herself, confiding only to her close friends when they would meet up after their missions. Despite her controlled exterior on duty, she was deeply concerned with how those around her thought of her, how they felt about her, and if they truly accepted her. Certain that she would one day seek companionship, she often wondered if anyone would love someone like her – someone who was both a human and a wolf.

In regards to Gaara, she was beginning to feel confused about him.

Since the loss of Shukaku, they were spending more time together as he could not take part in missions due to his weakened strength – accompanying him on his meetings and having the chance to talk with him not as her superior, but as a friend. As she grew closer to him, she began to feel something more for him, something that only seemed to pull her closer. Despite her reluctance to admit it, deep in her heart she realized she was developing feelings for the young Kazekage. Just the scent of his chakra alone warmed her, her chest fluttering with a want she never thought she had. Pushing back the thought anytime they were close to another only seemed to make the issue worse – was she just imagining things or was she truly falling for him? Either way, she felt it was hopeless and that she should ignore it, no matter how comforting his chakra felt to her when he drew near. Taking a deep breath, she shook herself, making her wolfishness disappear. Although it has been over three years since awakening her Kekkei Genkai, it sometimes slipped out by mistake, as if subconsciously. Not even Gaara seen her like this, with her face mutated to the shape of a hideous canine – she was deeply afraid of what his reaction would be.

"Am I human?" She asked herself, touching the glass of the mirror. "Or…?"

Gazing back at her was the girl again, lilac-eyed and golden haired, her expression solemn and body slender as she stood in a baggy white shirt and grey pyjamas, concealing her boyish figure as she looked herself up and down, focusing the fabric that sat upon her flat chest. She was no stranger to insecurities, and she had plenty.

Snapping out of her daze, she started to dress herself in her blue and white kimono, fastening the thin white obi across her waist and adjusting her long sleeves. Before leaving for another day of work as his assistant, she gazed at herself once more in her mirror.

Pleading that she could last yet another day avoiding her consequences.

* * *

Upon the rooftop of her apartment building that morning, she sat upon the wooden bench as her beastly summon sat close by.

Since her return from the Land of Rivers months earlier, Hanone took it upon himself to stand guard for his underling every night when she would retire for the night. Scouring the land surrounding her apartment for any of Kenzō's spies whose masked silhouettes lurked amongst the clay buildings, the monstrous wolf veered them away with a vicious snarl and lunge if they dared to approach any closer. Not wanting to cause a scene within the village streets, they returned to their places within the shadows – to make sure no one found out about the mission she was assigned and the consequences that awaited her for her disobedience. As the wolf looked into her averted tired eyes that gazed down at her lap, he could see the guilt marked within them.

"Hanone," She spoke, quietly. "Am I… truly the last one?"

"Hm?"

"The Yamamori…" She continued, bringing herself to look towards him. "Mother never said anything about there being others. I was wondering… if they were alive, somewhere."

Regretfully, the wolf straightened his head as he sat, his beastly yellow eyes meeting her pained and pleading glance. "I can't give you an answer for that," He answered with a faint growl. Looking down at his large paws before him, his glance towards them narrowed. "The wolf-people… they were certainly cursed. They were cursed to vanish amongst the snows that coated their mountains." With a scoff within his muzzle, he looked back to her. "There may be some in hiding, but I am not a human… I don't concern myself in human affairs. You know that, Nomasaki."

Sorrow tinted her gaze. "I know, it's just…"

Her voice trailed with the winds that rose within the desert that warm morning. Pondering to herself for a moment, she entertained an intruding thought that entered her mind. Lightly, she feigned a smile upon her lips in attempt to hide her deep-seeded fear and worry for what lay ahead in her life. For a moment, she felt free.

"Hanone," She said, her voice crisp and warm. "We should… look for them. Let's leave this land behind and search for them."

"This is highly unlike you," Hanone replied, his narrowed eyes suspicious. Even though she was smiling, he knew she was lying. He felt it. "I thought you said this was your home? Or… are you having second thoughts now that you know the true nature of the desert-folk?"

"This is my home, but…" She spoke, her voice coming to a pause.

She knew the desert village was where she felt the most safe - but it was also the place where she felt the most peril. Every waking moment she anticipated an appearance by one of those masked men. If she fled without saying so, they would have no choice but to follow her. And most importantly - Gaara would be safe. The thought was a cowardly plan, but if she had no other choice, she would gladly choose. Sorrow returning to her eyes, she averted her gaze to the side.

"…I still feel as if I don't belong here." Looking back to him, she smiled once more. "We should leave… for a while. We can have an adventure, just you and me… like old times, back in the mountains."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" He snarled. "That bastard Kenzō is still watching you. He suspects you of something… I can feel his spies watching us closely as we speak."

Her eyes widening from his words, she felt her hands flinch at her lap. "H-How can you tell?"

"As someone who is only half-wolf, I'm not surprised. Your sensory skills are remarkable, but not as strong as I." He narrowed his beastly yellow eyes towards her, a faint snarl escaping his mighty jaws. "Also… I know you're trying to protect _that_ one…"

Jolting, a shudder released down her spine from the mere thought. Hanging her head low, she gazed down at her lap with eyes closed halfway, the scant evidence of their violet gleam poking through the shroud of thick golden strands of her hair.

"I'm aware of that, it's just…" She spoke, silently. "Gaara-sama should be safe, Shukaku is gone… -,"

"Shukaku was his protection!"

His growl ripping through the air between them, startling her as she sat nearby. With wide eyes, she met the faintly snarling muzzle of her wolf across from her, his narrowed yellow eyes boring through her fragility as if she were an omega and he were an alpha. She wondered if that was how the leader of the wolf pack felt when she faced it in the forest of the Land of Winds only months ago. Standing her ground, she looked on with calmed breaths to contain herself.

"Without it, he's weaker than you! Do you really intend on leaving him to those who lurk in the shadows?" Once his snarling came to a rest, he turned away with narrowed eyes. "If you truly cared for him as you say you do… you would stay and fulfill your oath."

Surprised by her summon's words, she thought of her oath. Despite his strong distaste for the former jinchuriki, Hanone knew of the bond that lay between them. Warmed by his concern, she gave a soft smile towards the beast with a coy expression emerging from her relieved eyes of lilac.

"Hanone," She spoke softly. "Are you saying that… you want me to protect Gaara?"

"I did not say such thing!" He barked with a deep growl. "Don't antagonize me, Nomasaki! You may be my underling, but I will not stand for such disrespect! Don't make me think you are fully human…!"

With a light chuckle, she stood up from the bench and started for the door to the stairwell. Pausing before the doorway, she looked back to the wolf behind her as he stood on all fours and watched her carefully with protective eyes.

"I have to leave now, Gaara-sama is waiting for me. Where will you go?"

Turning towards the direction of the desert plateau in the far distance, Hanone sniffed the winds in the northwest. He could sense prey within that reach – boar, bovine, and camel. Taking in the scents, his stomach hungered for all three. The desert did not offer much choice to the wolf, but he was more than willing to adapt than scavenge with the crows.

"I need to make a hunt… I'll return at nightfall."

With a concerned glance, she watched the wolf descend onto the alley streets below, making his way out of the village to hunt his sought-after prey. Remembering her duties, she begrudgingly left the safety of her apartment and ventured into the village as well.

Gaara was still waiting for her, and she was seldom late.

* * *

That afternoon, once they were finished from their office duties, Nomasaki accompanied Gaara to a small teashop to chat.

Although a rare occasion to go anywhere with him outside of the Kazekage's mansion, she enjoyed spending time with him, especially since she could no longer feel Shukaku's chakra gnawing at her while she was around him. Due to his status as village leader and being an exceptional young man of stoic nature, she would have to endure the unwanted glares from his few devoted fans any time they wandered outside of the mansion's courtyard. Unsure if he was even aware of the young girls who crowded to the street sides to catch a glimpse of the young Kazekage, Nomasaki kept the peace and deterred them away kindly.

After a few moments of talking to one another about the recent Suna Council meeting - regarding the recent attack on Konoha by the Akatsuki - she placed her hands on her lap, letting her tea cool down. "So, your sand abilities… they are recovered?"

Sitting across from her, he nodded. "Mostly," He said. "Shukaku did give me more strength in terms of defense, so I'll have to figure out how to perfect the true ultimate defense on my own." He glanced to his side, narrowing his eyes as he remembered Shukaku – the source of his power and mental struggle. Despite him not holding the beast in high regard, not having its chakra at his disposal was proving to be difficult. "I'm close to perfecting it, but it's going to take some more time. I'm not quite there yet, but I will be eventually."

Looking at him with a concern tint to her eyes, she understood his inner quarrel – Shukaku, the source of his sand and ultimate defense. The Suna Council feared that his powers would disappear after losing the one-tail, albeit that was not entirely the case. However, it has been months since its loss and his abilities were still not yet completely refined. Sadly, she looked down at her hands on her lap – pondering what the council thought of him, worried about his fate.

"What's wrong?"

"O-Oh," She stammered, his voice jolting her for a moment. Meeting his gaze, she gave her familiar light-natured friendly smile. "Nothing, really. I just… hope you're able to feel like yourself again soon. Ability-wise." As she looked down at her cup of green tea, she hid her worry with a slight smile curved onto her lips. "The council worries about you, in that regard. And… I do, too."

"You don't need to." He spoke, a smile faintly present on his stoic expression as he sat across from her. "But… thanks. This will pass, but I won't push myself for missions until it's more refined."

Watching him as he spoke, her thoughts grew concerned, worry taking over her mind. Sitting across from her was the young man who had the chakra that struck fear into the hearts of men - and herself. But on that day, he sat a human completely free of any tailed-beast. The demon that was once sealed within him failed to reappear, its chakra forever lost from his being. On the winds, his chakra was strong with power but with the warmth of comfort and protection. Never afraid of Gaara for what he was, her true fear of him lay with their friendship. Grateful for her help in the Land of Rivers, the Kazekage was largely unaware of her hidden mission. Seeing his calm eyes before her made her gut twist with guilt.

The pressure was so tight within her to come clean that she could feel the tendrils about to burst.

No doubt Kenzō would gladly silence her before she would have the chance, she thought.

Noticing her silence as the sounds of the village around them grew louder, she decided she should say something. But what? Her mind still fresh with the recollection of her nightmare, she remembered the ghastly sight she witnessed. The image of the wolfish girl looking back at her through the looking glass reminded her of her conflicting blood. There was the blood of the wolf - and the blood of the sand, intertwined and stirring her troubled thoughts. Thinking about her dilemma from earlier in the morning, she decided to ask him the question she mulled over for months. Gathering up the courage to ask, she glanced at him to see if he was interested.

"Listen, Gaara…" She started. "There's something… I have always wanted to… ask you."

"What is it?" His eyes conveying curiosity to her change in tone, watching her slowly come to terms with what she wanted to say.

Taking a deep breath internally, her eyes grew nervous and saddened. Looking at her hands clasp the warm cup of tea in front of her, she diverted her attention away from him – distracting herself to save herself the shock.

"Well… When you see…-,"

"Ah, it's you two! Is this a date I'm interrupting or…-?"

From beside their table on the street-side, Kankuro was standing close by, clothed in his black puppeteer clothes and purple face-paint – smirking at them as they both whipped their heads towards him.

"We're discussing work-related matters," Gaara shot back, his eyes slightly narrowed in annoyance and embarrassment – not making eye contact with his sibling. "It's nothing personal… What are you talking about?"

"I was only joking." Kankuro groaned, regretting what he said to them upon seeing Gaara's somewhat flustered reaction. "Sheesh…" Sighing, he placed his gloved hands into his pockets, glancing towards the village street beside them. "Well, anyways… I came here to tell you two that the council just got a mission for you two. They said it's very important."

Upon hearing his words, Gaara's interest was spiked – his eyes suspicious of the request. The council was aware of his weakened state, which perplexed him as to why they wanted him to depart the village so suddenly – and with his assistant. Not since they were genin, had the two been on an assignment together. Something did not feel right to him at all.

"A new mission?" He repeated, sternly. "What for? And why the two of us together?"

"Not sure," His brother replied, turning to him. "They mentioned something about Ishigakure, but they specifically asked for you and Nomasaki to go. They said they can't tell me anything more than that, it's confidential."

Gaara's ringed-eyes narrowed at the answer, his suspicions flooding his mind – was there a hidden motive for this assignment?

As Gaara stood up from the table, he watched his older brother leave, his figure walking off into the crowd, disappearing within the vast sea of people. "Nomasaki, you were trying to tell me something." Gaara reminded, his expression calm as he watched the crowd.

Silence – his call went unanswered.

"Nomasaki?"

Stepping towards the middle of the street, he could faintly see a wolf walking alone in the distance, its white fur gleaming from the bright rays of the sun. Within an instant, the beast faded away as the crowd drew closer, hidden within the shadows of the villagers. His eyes appearing somewhat guilty and saddened, he stood in a solemn daze as the wind blew past him – swaying his untamed red hair.

"Did I… do something?" He asked himself, quietly – puzzled at her abrupt departure.

* * *

Reaching the doorstep of her tiny apartment, she transformed back into her human form – kicking the dust off her dress as she gathered herself.

Opening the door with her key, she locked the door behind her once she entered – sighing in relief as she held her back against its wooden texture. Sliding down until she was upon the cold stucco floor, she held her head down.

"That… was too close."

Her lilac eyes closing halfway, she thought of how much she cared for him, and how she truly felt about him - but he was the Fifth Kazekage, a truly strong and powerful ninja. She wanted to convey her budding feelings to him, to tell him of how she cared for him, to tell him what Kenzō was forcing her to do - but all efforts were naught. Although through a veil of secret, she lacked the confidence and fearlessness to do so – her timid past seeping through the cracks of her duty-driven exterior. Wolves do not fear, but perhaps she was not a wolf after all. She desperately wished she could tell him the truth - her secret assignment that forced her to forego sleep in fear of her own life - to tell someone, anyone. However, she lacked the courage to break the news.

For someone who was part-wolf, she had the confidence of a frightened mutt.

" _Nomasaki, you just need to speak up! Be assertive! Nothing's holding you back. I know you're shy, but you should at least open up a little_."

Temari's words on confidence during their jonin training rang through her mind as she mulled over the day's events. If he truly was her friend, she should be able to tell him everything and anything that bothered her, but what she wanted to tell him could ruin their amicable relationship – causing her internal struggle. He was also a Kage, and had more important things to worry about - and much less trivial. Why would he trouble himself so - and why would he care? As someone who struggled with being both a human and a wolf, she was a freak in her eyes, as many of her Yama villagers called her and her mother years ago. She thought Gaara deserved much better – as a friend and as an assistant. If she let her thoughts dance around the chance she might hold something more than friendship towards him, she would have shouted internally at herself.

How dare she even think of such a thing, she cursed herself - what would he think of it if he found out?

He was the Kazekage, she was his assistant - nothing more.

Or was it?

Sighing again, she clutched her knees in her arms, burying her expression of sorrow into her dress' lap.

- _Would I ever be able to tell him… how I feel…? Or even... about everything..._ -

Regretfully, she wallowed in her internal struggles and paranoia – hoping that they would both soon pass…


	23. Descendant

**Chapter 23  
** **Descendant**

* * *

Without exchanging many words, they departed for their assignment.

Venturing off into the unforgiving desert as the early rays of the morning swept across the dunes, they left their tracks behind in the sand. With the winter months soon approaching their end, their travels to Ishigakure of the Land of Claws were delayed by the unpredictable terrain of the Land of Mountains by which they shared a border, forcing the young Kazekage and his assistant to take a detour through the Land of Rivers to the far east. As they navigated on their path through the dense shrouded forest beyond the desert, they could feel the cold essence of winter on the winds that blew against them.

Later that night, they set up camp as they neared the Land of Claws' border – preferring to take refuge in the forest than the merciless wastelands that riddled the Land of Claws' landscape. Nestled between the Land of Rain to the east and the Land of Mountains to the west, the Land of Claws was a place where no souls wished to be born – it was a land devoid of nature, life, and prosperity. Ishigakure was a largely neutral nation, but still exhibited hostility towards other lands who dared to venture through the wastes. Knowing full well that her clan was a prime target of Ishigakure, Gaara suggested on waiting until morning to cross the wastes to Ishi, something that deeply relieved her – the memories of her capture still fresh in her mind.

Sitting below a tree in front of the faintly dimming embers of their fire, he watched the sparks crackle and fade into the night – seeking warmth in the cold winds he was not used to, his hand clutching the white cloak that sat on his shoulders as he could begin to see his breath before him. Across from him at the other side of the fire, Hanone was laying down, his beastly eyes gazing into the flames as his long, white body was curled around the fire. On the wolf's back, Nomasaki slept soundly, her hands held close to her face as they lightly grasped onto his thick snowy fur in the night, her tracker-nin mask close by.

"She didn't want us to rest from the journey, despite how tired she really was." Hanone spoke. "…and her disdain for the Ishi ninja who destroyed her clan and village."

"Why is that?" Gaara asked, looking up to him, curiously. "Why would she?"

"She knows about your insomnia… She thought resting would be a burden to us."

With a sympathetic gaze, Gaara observed her sleeping, his ringed-eyes watching closely, perplexed by the idea of sleep as she slept silently on a bed of white fur. For his whole life, he struggled with his insomnia, a side effect of being the jinchuriki of Shukaku – the beast's horrifying thoughts tormenting his sleep and contributing to his mania. Since having the one-tail extracted, sleep had still alluded him – not once in his life had he slept a healthy amount and despite his best efforts, he could still not sleep. Watching her lay in comfort struck his interest, hoping that one day he would be so lucky.

"She needs her rest…" He replied. "She's our sensory guide, so her well-being is crucial."

Scoffing at him, Hanone whipped his tail from his response. "Don't forget me due to arrogance, young Kazekage!" The wolf snarled, briefly. "She summoned me to cover more ground as well! You Sunagakure ninja act so entitled…!"

The wolf's snarl slightly alarming him that night, he looked up towards it – his expression calm and expressionless. "I apologize." He said, as he locked eyes with the beast, almost passive-aggressive. "My intention wasn't to offend you, but after all… you have a nasty temper."

After hearing the wolf release a growl from its closed jaws, he stared back into the diming fire, pondering his words as he thought about the mission at hand. Abruptly, the Suna Council requested their Kazekage and his assistant to respond to a peace treaty with Ishigakure, completely aware that Gaara was significantly weaker without his tailed-beast and that his assistant was a previous target by the Ishi ninja due to her clan and homeland – something did not sit right with him at all, and not once had they partaken in a mission together – why now? The more he pondered about the circumstances, the more it troubled him. While sitting silently before the fading embers, he thought of his assistant's clan and what little he knew – that they were wolves – but that was all he was aware of. Her entire clan was a mystery to him, and he never had the will to ask – but with the mission at hand, he felt he had to find out in order to understand why her people were targets.

"Hanone, I need to ask you something."

"What is it?"

Looking up at the wolf across from him, he glanced at its beastly eyes through the light of the fire - his ringed-eyes visibly stern and narrowed. "The Yamamori clan… what became of them?"

"No one really knows what happened to them, to say the least. Even I don't know what became of that clan, and I've been around for nearly a thousand years." The wolf's eyes narrowed at the burning flames. "All I do know, is that the Yamamori originated from the Land of Mountains. They were mountain-folk with strange purple eyes and possessed a Kekkei Genkai which gave them the power to become a wolf… much like the werewolves in your humans' folklore. They were a battle clan with great strength and stamina, feared in combat, and defended Yamagakure for generations… However, as the years passed, their legacy caught up with them and they were wiped out by Ishigakure… with any of their few survivors scattering themselves to the winds, and the clan being shunned by Yama as a scapegoat for their isolation and troubles…"

The beast glanced at the sleeping girl on his back, his yellow eyes closed halfway in sympathy for her suffering – remembering the broken young girl who summoned him in the mountain meadow. She was so fragile, so small, and so helpless - a pup without its mother, he thought. Seeing her become who she was filled his ancient heart with pride. She was more wolf than he could have imagined - luckily taking after her mother who he once called his master.

"There must be others bearing the name of that clan, there has to be. Nomasaki is not the last of her kind… I know that much of her people."

Resting his head on his large paws, the great wolf fell asleep – his silent breaths escaping through his tightly closed jaws. Alone, Gaara sat awake from his insomnia, thinking about the possible reasons why the council sent him on this assignment. As he sat below the tree, he gazed at Nomasaki who lay sleeping, noting her peaceful appearance. Seeing her sleep so silently captivated him in his curiosity and desire for a full night's rest. Looking down at his cold hands with worn eyes, he pondered about his assistant, her clan, and the mission.

Hoping that sleep would graciously arrive to him someday.

* * *

As the morning arrived, they continued on their journey to the Land of Claws.

Making their way further down the pathway that connected the Land of Rivers to the wastes, with Gaara choosing to walk beside the large wolf as his assistant sat calmly on its back, her mask clinging to the back of her flak jacket. The air was thick and cold that day, while small flurries of snow fell from the sky above them, painting the air in white. As they approached further north, the frost coated the trees on their path, while a thick blanket of snow covered the ground. For the first time in over three years, Nomasaki seen snow – her heart aching from the long separation, her eyes glistening with joy as she felt its familiar frosted tinge. Familiar to only the desert climate, Gaara walked alongside Hanone with a thick white cloak over his shoulders to keep warm. Although he was not visibly uncomfortable, the snow and the cold was strange to him – chilling him in a way almost alien to him. To make matters more inconvenient for him, there was no sand for him to make use of, and the frozen earth beneath would be difficult to reach in case of attack. Trying not to think about the council's insistence of the mission, he walked on in silence – ready to complete the assignment and return to Suna.

Hanone's nostrils flared as he took in the cold air while they walked.

"We're close to the Land of Mountains," He spoke through his fangs. "This climate… how I've missed it."

Surprised from his words, Nomasaki nodded, a soft smile on her lips – her breath visible in the cold. She felt at peace. "I still can't believe it's been almost three years, since… I left."

Noticing Gaara beside her as she sat atop her wolf, she noted the thickness of the cloak upon his strong shoulders. Clad in only her standard shinobi attire, her long-sleeved black shirt with its matching pants and flak jacket kept her sufficiently warm. But then remembered she was not exactly the average person. With the wolf's blood that flowed in her veins, the cold did not bother her in the slightest. Whereas Gaara beside her did not have such a tolerance, and by looking at his stern eyes she could see that he had a slight shiver as he walked. As someone from the sands where no snow has ever fallen, she was not surprised.

"Kazekage-sama," She smiled towards him. "Is this your first time seeing snow?"

Drawing his attention, he turned. As the snow began to fall, the vibrance of her lilac eyes gleamed through the powdered white that surrounded them. It had been a while since he seen them in a such a way. The tone of dutiful sternness he knew from working alongside her was replaced by the familiar kindness and warmth he remembered from when they were genin. In the snow, she seemed different to him. She appeared at ease, calmer, and stronger in a way. Unbitten by the cold, she sat on her wolf's back smiling and content.

Glancing back to the skies of white above, he gave a small nod. "Yeah. It's strange, almost. It's cold, wet, and surprisingly soft. It's the opposite of sand, yet... in a way so similar."

Taking in his words, she smiled at his answer. Remembering that fateful day years ago when they first properly met, she was glad that he thought the same. Sand and snow were total opposites, no mistaking that - but yet were the same. Maybe not in composition, but in essence. Having small-talk with her leader was always welcome, but it was seldom had between them. Although thankful for the recent months where they could discuss things more openly together, she felt guilty for the weakness he suffered from the tailed-beast's extraction. Having his powers over the sand recovered comforted her, just as his words were.

"Tell me, Nomasaki," Gaara started, as they were making their way down the snowy forest path. Curiously, she turned to him as she sat on the wolf's back – his voice catching her attention. "Yamagakure, what was it like? You've never spoken of it before."

Surprised by his question, she turned to meet his glance. "R-Really?" She stammered. "You want to know?"

"Hanone said it was close by," He replied. "It's your homeland, so I'm curious."

From hearing the young Kazekage mention his name, Hanone let out a subtle growl. "After all this time as _your_ assistant, you still never bothered to ask...?!" He snarled through his fangs, quietly. "You desert-folk are so ignorant...!"

"Hanone, please." Nomasaki patted him, slightly embarrassed. "Don't say that."

"No," Gaara answered. "He's right."

Surprising her slightly, she turned to him, noticing his eyes looking on towards the snowy path with a somewhat saddened glint. Used to his stoic and expressionless demeanor, seeing him appearing slightly saddened and guilty made her curious.

"You're my assistant," He replied. "And being such, I neglected our friendship at times due to my duties as the Kazekage. For that, I'm sorry." As the flurries continued to fall, he looked up to her, his expression showing a faint genuine smile, masking his past guilt. "So if it's alright, I would like to know more about you. Not as the Kazekage, but as your friend."

Humbled by his words, she softly smiled at him. As she structured her words in her head, she looked up to the snowy skies above. "Well," She began. "Yama was a very peaceful place. Since our village was on a mountaintop, it was always snowing. Winter lasted all year long. Our village was very small, and we had few shinobi, but we were happy there." Slowly, she held her head down, her gaze saddening. "I was… raised by my mother in the village. I grew up without a father. He left when I was very small." Looking down at the wolf who's back she sat upon, she placed her hand on his white mane. "Hanone told me of my father… My mother wouldn't tell me of him, but only through Hanone would I find out it was for good reason…"

"What reason was that?" He asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

Turning to him, she locked eyes with him, sorrow and contempt tinting her lilac eyes for the words she spoke. "My father was a Suna ninja."

Surprised, felt his heart stop in his chest from her words. Sunagakure, his homeland - she was one of them. Desert, sand, winds, heat - all the elements that bothered her contained the essence of her mixed blood. Contempt rising within her, she averted her gaze from his, looking down at Hanone's back of snow-white fur before her, her expression turning blank while her violet eyes evoked seething rage.

"During the Third Shinobi War, Yama was prone to ambush and had few ninja in the village. In order to protect the Land of Wind's border, platoons from Suna were stationed in Yama to secure our border against the Land of Earth. That's how my mother met my father." A small smile formed on her lips, trying to mask her contempt for her absent parent that she never knew - the man she only knew as 'father' in her memories. "They were very much in love. They planned to live out the rest of their lives together, until the end of their days. Then…"

Gritted her growing fanged teeth, she attempted to suppress her anger as best as she could - but it was futile. She could feel her hands quiver upon Hanone's fur as she sat, her eyes becoming heavy with guilt. While the memory of Hanone's words to her before she participated in the Chunin Exams rang through her mind, she relished in the bubbling anger that was cracking through the surface of her blank exterior.

"…I was born." She uttered. "My father discovered the Kekkei Genkai my mother and I possessed… and was disgusted. He left the village and was never heard from again. He broke my mother's heart, and I believe that's what killed her. Not her illness."

"I'm sorry to hear that..." Gaara said, quietly, averting his narrowed gaze. "It must have been difficult for you."

Her lilac eyes narrowed at her pale hands, cleansing her face of emotion as she examined them. "That was one of the reasons why I became a shinobi. I wanted to make myself braver. Stronger. That's all I know of my father to begin with. He's a ninja… I thought maybe if I became one too, I'd be able to understand him when we finally meet." Attempting to hide her sadness, she briefly chuckled to herself. "I don't know how I would react if I met him. I... want to know him, so I can try to understand why he left but..." She grit her teeth, her canines appearing slightly larger than usual – her anger returning to her natural calm voice. "...I deeply resent him for what he did to my family. What kind of father thinks of their own child as a monster?"

Resonating with her words, Gaara turned to his side, his eyes narrowing as he remembered the difficult upbringing he had with his father - the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa of the Gold Dust. All his early childhood he spent in isolation with lack of affection and menacing thoughts from his tailed-beast – the comfort he had being his loving uncle who later betrayed him by attempting to assassinate him on his father's order – because he thought of him as a failed experiment, a monster. For a long time, he believed it.

"My father said I was a monster."

His words surprising her, she turned to him, her eyes shocked and sympathetic. "Your father?"

"I was primed to be the ultimate weapon for Suna when I was Shukaku's jinchuriki. I was... basically raised separately from my own siblings." As he walked, his eyes showed visible contempt towards the horizon. " _'A demon who loves only himself_ '... That was the name I was given. It was his plan that I become a jinchuriki before I was even born. And because I couldn't be controlled, he deemed me a failure." Turning to her, his expression softened. "Whether a jinchuriki or from a certain clan, that does not make you a monster. It's what you decide to do with that power that can make you a monster." He looked down on his snowy path, his ringed-eyes closed in shame. "I've done things in my past I'm not proud of," He lamented. "Such as proving my existence in... cruel and cold ways towards others. That made me a monster. But...-,"

As they met eyes that moment, she felt the security and warmth of his words.

"You are not a monster, Nomasaki. Your father was wrong. When you confront him, he will realize his mistake with shame."

Surprised from his words, she looked down to herself, her eyes glistening and her cheeks faintly blushing from comfort. "Yeah." She nodded, containing herself. With a gentle smile, she turned to him. "Thank you, Gaara. Er, I mean... Gaara-sama."

As she rode on her mount, she remembered her secret. She would find her father when her assignment was completed - if Kenzō deemed her worthy. While she looked at Gaara from the back of her wolf, a sudden guilt had enveloped her. She was acting selfish and she knew it. He did not deserve any of it, not a shard of her help - nothing. She was truly a wolf in sheep's clothing, hiding everything from him. _If I kill you, Kenzō-sama can reveal to me my father,_ she thought to herself, _but I will never do such a thing - I will protect you in spite of that_. She wondered if her father was even alive to begin with. For all she knew, Kenzō could have been lying to gain her trust - to gain her as a tool. Guilt swelled and writhed within her, fracturing her already vulnerable heart that she held towards the young Kazekage.

She wanted to tell him everything, but she knew what awaited her if she did.

To their surprise, Hanone suddenly paused in their path – a snarl ripping through his jaws as his back arched in a predatory nature. Arching his back, he barrd his muzzle and his ears rested upon his head, his snarling echoing throughout the snowy landscape. Snapping her from her daze, Nomasaki flinched her grasp upon his fur.

"Hanone, what is it?" She asked, leaning close to his face. "Do you sense something?"

"Scum."

Suddenly, she sensed it, her eyes widening in shock as she could feel a mass of chakra making their way towards them. The presence felt as if they were closing in on them in violent speed, feeling nearly inhuman to her – but how was she unable to detect them?

"We've been surrounded!"

"What? How so?" Gaara interjected, preparing himself for combat.

"They're coming!" Hanone growled. "On your guard!"

Suddenly, a stream of lightning came from the ice-covered forest edge, making Nomasaki leap from Hanone's back, drawing her sword in her hand from its sheath. When she seen their adversary, she flinched.

"Well, well," A voice sighed. "It's the one we've been looking for all this time!"

A massive man clad in armor and scars emerged from the forest with a platoon of ten men wielding various weapons – mercenaries or bandits, their ragged appearances and barbarian-esque expressions proved it. Arching his back further, Hanone's growl ripped through the air, his claws digging into the snow as he barred his fanged muzzle.

"This time, you won't escape…" The man threatened. "…wretched wolf!"

While he stood before them, Gaara's glare became piercing, knowing that Nomasaki was indeed their target. In an instant, his sand attacked, and then the platoon closed in…


	24. Protector

**Chapter 24  
** **Protector**

* * *

After taking out most of the platoon, it was just the menacing hulking leader that was left.

A terrifyingly strong missing-nin covered in armor and scars, wielding lightning-release jutsu as his weapon of choice. Together through the heaps of snow at their feet, Gaara and Nomasaki faced off against him within the open meadow of frost – exchanging many blows with the enemy, who was left largely unfazed by their efforts while Hanone scoured the surrounding area for the remaining adversaries. Throughout the battlefield, sand was scattered from Gaara's gourd and the remnants of Nomasaki's snow clones left mountains of snow dotted across the meadow. Ill-prepared from the snow, Gaara frustratedly fended off the skillful foe with his small reserve of sand.

Suddenly, the enemy began to wield hand-signs, glaring at them - unafraid of his opponents' known skill and techniques. At the same time, Nomasaki formed hand-signs as well, slamming her palms into the snow.

"Secret Art! Snow Wolf Pillars!"

In an instant, numerous large wolf heads sprouted from the snow and headed towards the enemy, dashing towards him in a violent stream of snow. As they approached closer, a massive lightning beam was shot towards it by their foe, halting the attack - creating an explosion which blanketed the scene in white. Sensing his approach, she quickly morphed into her wolf form – wincing as the warmth and agony burned through her as she shook off her skin and dashed towards their relentless enemy.

Sternly, Gaara turned to his right, sensing the leader dashing directly towards him with a blade in hand. Swiftly, he used his sand to counter the attack – the enemy dodging the numerous streams of sand in lightning-quick speed. Her claws thrashing through the snow as she leapt, the wolf lunged forward with fangs and claws drawn for attack. Suddenly, the enemy disappeared in quick speed, reappearing within a flash behind the lilac-eyed beast - kicking the wolf to the ground, its painful yelp breaking through the frost-bitten air.

"Nomasaki!" Gaara shouted.

Morphing back into a human, she lay on the snowy ground, her eyes flickering as she slowly tried to collect herself from the impact. To her shock when she opened her eyes, she was forcefully lifted up by the neck, the enemy's thumb squeezing into her windpipe – choking with each breath.

"Let… go!" She kicked, as she tried to pull his massive hand away from her growling throat but to no avail – he was much stronger than her and she was trapped.

"You don't just look like a wolf, but you fight like one, too." The enemy glared, mockingly. "How pathetic… you carry that tracker-nin mask around and you can hardly keep up with me! Whoever took you under their wing must be ashamed to have a failure like you."

Grasping the mask off her back, he smirked at it, before promptly tossing it aside – its menacing shape falling into the snow beside them. Glaring at their foe, Gaara raised his hand, ready to attack with his sand in an instant.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The enemy taunted, holding his sharpened blade towards her – its steel gleaming in the cold sun. "Unless… you want her to die?"

Seeing her struggling in their enemy's grasp, Gaara grit his teeth. "Damn it!" He spat under his cold breath, pondering what his next move would be. Alarmingly, his supply of sand was becoming scarce, the snow making it immensely more difficult to create sand from the earth below. Not to mention, his sand prowess was not yet back to normal despite the removal of Shukaku nearly a year ago - he was at a massive disadvantage.

As she forced herself to breathe, she clasped onto the enemy's grip once more. Revealing her sharp fangs, she bit through the enemy's hand, her canines piercing through his muscle, striking the bone in sudden force.

"ARGH!" The enemy wailed, angrily. "You bitch!"

In a rage, he strengthened his grip on her neck - near choking her. While he strangled her, he drew his blade forward – swinging it directly towards her. Quickly, she swung her legs and used her feet to grab his sword – removing it from his control, stabbing it through his abdomen in an instant. Wailing out in agony, he tossed her against the hardened tundra at their feet, her body suddenly clasped by a warm grainy presence. Looking around her in amazement, a wave of sand crept up behind her – pulling her away from the attack in quick speed. Once the sand stopped, he turned to Gaara at her side. "Thank you." She lightly smiled, relieved for his quick thinking. Nodding in acknowledgement, he did not take his eyes off the enemy for a second – watching their strange and burgeoning foe rip the blade from his wound, blood slowly leaking onto the white snow beneath. He was stabbed in a supposedly fatal spot, so why was he still standing? Meeting his gaze, the foe's bloodshot eyes locked onto him – anticipating his next move.

"This foe," She started, narrowing her eyes at him from a distance. "Something feels off about him… His chakra signature is normal, but… my attack should've immobilized him."

"I know," He agreed, glaring at their enemy's intimidating stance. "If he's a mercenary, there's a good chance he's a missing-nin. We should act quickly. We have a mission to complete."

"Right." Standing up, she turned to him – her face calm. "I'll use my wind-release to counter his lightning, and you can seal him with your sand."

"It's worth a shot." Solidifying his stance, Gaara prepared for the next series of attacks from their challenging foe – attempting to conserve as much sand as possible.

Suddenly, their foe formed a series of hand-signs, sending violent beams of lightning in their direction in a blinding blue flash. Standing his ground, Gaara's sand countered against it, holding it back as he could feel its force push his feet further into the snow – testing his weakened state. Turning towards her, he gave her the signal.

"Now, Nomasaki!"

Quickly, she began to form her hand-signs for her wind-release counter-attack. As she was nearing the last seal, Gaara suddenly detected something. Looking up at the sand shield before his hands, the shield began to quiver under his control. In an instant, a beam of blue lighting broke through the top of his shield – striking the air above him. Dodging it, he grit is teeth in frustration at his disadvantage – shocked and dismayed at his lack of refinement of his sand abilities in a dire situation.

"Damn it!" He spat to himself.

"Wind release! Forceful gale!"

From the formation of her seal with her hands, a thick current of powerful wind dashed towards the enemy's lightning attack, slamming into it with insurmountable force and rage. As the two natures clashed, the air became a vacuum of lightning and wind, as if a storm entered the battlefield – both adversaries standing their ground against the other with matching glares of anger.

"Impressive, but," The foe taunted, fending off the wind. "Your people are dead for a reason! They were weak! No matter how strong the wind may be, it cannot make the mountain bow to it… isn't that right?" Struggling, the bulking enemy began to step forward with his lightning, causing an intense pressure between the two attacks. "I'm going to do your people a favor and erase your clan once and for all! There's no place for wolves in this world!"

As she could feel her feet being pushed deeper into the snow, she grit her fanged teeth as she struggled to hold her stance to maintain her jutsu – feeling his strength beginning to overcome hers. Suddenly, the enemy slashed his arms towards her, causing a gigantic and blinding electric pulse to strike towards her, slamming against her wind jutsu - dispelling her technique and throwing her across the snow-covered earth. She glared up at him as she slowly stood on her knees, feeling the burnt texture of her hands from deflecting his scalding lightning.

"Now, die!"

Suddenly, the enemy sent another beam of lightning towards her, only this time with more force and the intent to completely obliterate. Sensing the approaching jutsu, without even thinking, Gaara appeared in front of her, taking the brunt of the attack by summoning an encasing sand shield in front of them. As the attack shook the sand shield and became stronger, he dug his feet into the snowy ground, sending all of his strength to the quivering shield. With widened and shocked eyes, Nomasaki seen the corner of his shield shatter, his blood falling to the snow as it broke through his weakened defenses. Horrified, she watched him stand before her, injured and bleeding from the burning wound of his left shoulder and surrounding area of his chest – causing his sand armor to break apart and fall to the snow-covered ground in streams. All throughout her stay in Sunagakure, she heard the unsettling rumors of Gaara's ultimate defense and how he was never once injured in battle – aside from the failed Konoha Crush – returning from missions unscathed and immaculate. Shocked, she sat behind him, witnessing him in his state of mortality and weakness.

"Gaara-!"

"I know!"

Clapping his hands together, all of his remaining sand was summoned, flying towards the enemy in great speed, dragging him under the tundra into the depths of the frosted earth. Although it took great effort and time, Gaara was able to harvest the minerals from the earth for his sand – boring through the thick layer of frost shortly after their battle began. Preparing for the final hand-sign, he locked eyes with the struggling foe. "There's no place for waste like you in this world…" Gaara spat at him, glaring. "You're the one who's weak!"

Covering him in death's warm embrace as his screams filled the forest air, he placed his palms onto his sand – creating a Sand Tsunami – winning the battle with an immense quake of the ground below.

At last, she could no longer sense the foe's chakra.

* * *

Knelt down beside the sand-ridden grave, Nomasaki scanned through the pages of her Bingo Book – an item she carried in her pack at all times.

"He was an S-ranked criminal from Ishigakure." She spoke, examining his remains – her lilac eyes narrowed in suspicion. "The same village we have to visit on this mission… Raigo was his name. He was after me… like the others from three years ago."

"He won't pursue you anymore," Gaara spoke, walking towards her. "And neither will Ishigakure, once we finish this mission."

Standing up, she turned her back towards him – averting her glance as she mulled over her thoughts. "Are you… sure the council didn't know of this?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Turning towards him, her sorrow-filled eyes bore through him. "Do you think… they wanted us to fight him? Because he was after my bloodline?"

Averting his gaze, he tried not to dwell on the suspicious motives of his village's council – internally agreeing with her but saying nothing for the sake of secrecy. "Let's not think of that right now. We have a mission to complete, I will tell them about this when we return."

Suddenly, he felt a writhing pain in his wound, burning through his muscles as if a hot flame burned under it. Grasping it tightly with his hand, he winced. Nearly a year later from the Shukaku extraction and his sand was still not yet strong enough to withstand high amounts of damage, and his wound proved it.

"My sand armor didn't stand a chance against his jutsu… My shoulder is burning!" He panted. "I didn't bring my strongest sand… his jutsu cut right through it! I was being careless… My sand isn't yet strong enough…"

She turned to him, a concerned tint visible in her vibrant strange eyes. "Before we head out, we should deal with your injury first."

He nodded. "You're right."

* * *

On her knees that afternoon, she sat in front of him beside a large waterfall and babbling river.

The wind was cold and the water was even colder, the light layer of ice still dancing upon the flowing waters. Close by, she had a small first-aid kit opened, its contents ready for her to use at her disposal. A gift from Meiyumi from their chunin days, Nomasaki carried it with her at all times. It had everything she would have needed - alcohol for sanitization, bandage wrappings, healing ointments, and other dressings.

"I don't know medical ninjutsu, so you'll have to cooperate with me, alright?" She spoke, pulling back her black sleeves. "We have to clean your wound."

Acknowledging her cautious words, he nodded.

As she prepared the damp cloth from the icy river, he removed his cloak and unbuttoned his burgundy shirt and purple chest-protector. Taking his arms out of his sleeves, the clothes fell to the snow-covered earth, revealing the extent of his injured chest. Turning to him with the cloth as she sat down, she noticed his impressive physique immediately. His body was pale, toned and somewhat thin and muscular. Immaculate, save for the gash. The body of a highly skilled ninja - a Kage. Just as his numerous fans have lovingly declared, the Fifth Kazekage was indeed an attractive young man, complete with his stoic and cool exterior. She could see it clearly before her. It was then she realized his fans' inability to resist such a person. She found herself finding it difficult the more she stared at him.

Shyly, she averted her gaze from him as she could feel her cheeks begin to redden, trying to focus at the task at hand – healing his wound.

"Okay, this is going to sting a little bit."

As the cloth in alcohol touched his open wound that covered his shoulder to his chest, he winced, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes. At his age of seventeen, he was still not completely used to physical pain. However, with each press of the cloth, it became more tolerable as he could sense her hands delicately tending to his wound – trying her best to be gentle. With each press, more dried crimson leaked onto the cloth until it was soaked with red. Switching to the cold cloth from the river, she tampered it lightly against his wound. Surprising himself, he felt no more pain. It was bearable.

"I may not know medical ninjutsu," She smiled, in her friendly nature. "But I can at least clean it up a little. That's what first-aid kits are for, anyways." Remaining silent, he slowly opened his eyes, accepting the pain as a trial he had to hurdle – his wound becoming numb from the alcohol and the cold. Her eyes saddened at the wound while she crudely healed. "You know… You didn't have to be so reckless."

"What do you mean by 'reckless'?" He asked, looking straight ahead into the snowy forest.

"You shielded me from that attack." She answered, her eyes closing halfway in guilt – lightly touching his wound with the crimson-stained cloth. "I could have dodged it, but… you still…"

"I did it because I had to protect you."

"Yes, because I was the target."

"No." Surprising her, she froze – the cloth pausing on his wound. "I can't explain it, but… I just had to."

Looking up to him, their gazes met.

His ringed tanuki-like eyes gazing into her eyes of gentle lilacs unwavering in nature, true to his word. She could feel it. Sensing his warm chakra around her, she found herself becoming light in her chest. Fluttering. It was that feeling again, she reminded herself. After a moment, she shyly looked down, realizing she was beginning to blush. She hoped he did not see. He was Kazekage and she had a duty to him as his assistant - nothing more. Once the wound was clean from blood and debris, she carefully wrapped bandages over his shoulder and chest, concealing it both effectively and securely. The cold no longer burned through his open sore, coated by a tight blanket of bandage dressing.

"There!" She spoke, tying the knot. "How does that feel?"

Looking at his patch-work, he moved it slightly, then looked at her – a small smile visible on his lips. "Much better, thank you."

Lightly, she smiled at him in return. Slightly alarming her, she could feel something within her senses. Standing up, she walked towards the snow-covered cliffside by the running waterfall of ice, taking in a deep breath of the snowy air. That moment, she let out an echoing howl from her lungs, her protruding canines fully exposed as she belted out the mountain air towards the cover of the forest below them. Surprising him slightly, he sat in astonishment from the call as the winds blew past. She sounded exactly like a wolf, a beast.

Silence – then, a faint howl in the distance beckoned back to her. Smiling, a tint of relief entered her lilac eyes.

"Hanone says there are no further enemies en route to Ishigakure." She said. "Thankfully."

Gently, a cold wind swept by them on the cliffside, swaying her golden hair with the flurries as she stood looking on at the winter forest below. As the winds swept by her, he felt as if he could not take his eyes off her – near mesmerized by the sight. This was strange for him – was there something about her he failed to notice? As he gazed at her, her hair reminded him of the desert sand, reflecting into golden strands from the sun that desperately tried to break through the clouds above. Perplexing him, he began to feel a light feeling inside of his chest, not a wound but something more. The more he looked at her, the more he could feel its fluttering. What was it? He felt something growing between them in the recent months, something that propelled him to be closer to her - to protect her.

As his wound pulsed, he diverted his attention away, putting his shirt back on and the placing the white cloak back on his shoulders.

"We should get going." She spoke, the wind blowing against her. "We're almost there. I know you're not used to this weather, but the snow will disappear once we get through this pass. Winter is almost over in these lands, but we should keep on our path." Turning to him, she softly smiled. "What say you?"

Slightly surprising him, her smile caught him off guard, snapping him out of his brief daze. "Yes," He replied, standing up. "We should head out."

Sensing Hanone's approach on the winds, she turned towards the frosted tinge of the forest beside them as the large wolf emerged from the thicket of white, the weight of his massive paws crunching on top of the snow beneath his path. Although he was monstrous in size, his white figure appeared silently as if a ghost - only the yellow of his eyes were visible against the frosted lands around them. Coming to a pause before her, she reached out her palm, touching the warm and moist texture of the beast's blackened nose. Meeting his beastly yellow eyes, she gave a light smile towards him - while Gaara watched from afar, keeping his distance from the creature who despised him.

"I'm glad you're alright. I trust you had no trouble?"

"Keh," The wolf scoffed from his jaws. "Humans are no match for a beast such as I... you _know_ that."

"How can I forget," She smiled back with a nod. "We're good on our end. Ishigakure isn't much farther from where we are, let's get going."

Grumbling under his breath as it evaporated into the cold air, Hanone let a growl escape his muzzle while he looked toward his protege with narrowed eyes. "I'm still in disbelief that you even accepted this mission. To go to such a place... your ancestors would surely strike you for what you're about to do."

Her glance towards the beast hardened, her expression fading as the reality set in. "It's my mission," She spoke, her voice calm. "I have to abide. I have no choice."

"Very well... but do not forget what they did to your people - our mountain... They deserve nothing but to be devoured by my jaws!"

Ignoring his final comment, she slowly approached closer as he lay upon the snows for her to mount his back. Resting her hand within his coarse white fur, she hesitated for a moment - lost in thought for what she was tasked. Noticing her silence, Gaara stepped forward, drawing the visual ire of Hanone as he did so. Pausing in the snow, he gave her a slight frown as words failed to reach his lips in time. The assignment from the council drew great suspicion - coupled with the fact they assigned the one person in Suna who despised Ishi above all else and the Kazekage, the decision was beyond his logic. Despite this, he felt content that of all people, it was her that he was assigned as an escort. Glancing down towards the snows at his feet while he pondered his words, the silhouette of white and red caught his eye. Near buried by the blankets of white was her porcelain mask, its snarling expression poking out through the snow towards him.

As she was about to mount the back of her summon to depart down the icy pass, she sensed something approaching her from behind. Turning, she was surprised to see a stream of sand delicately flowing towards her as Gaara stood silently with a stoic expression that held eyes tinted with understanding. While the sands danced in the air before her, her eyes widened slightly upon catching a glimpse of her mask within its flowing grains. Its eerie streaks of red and wolf-like appearance snared back at her in its grasp.

"Oh," She realized, taking it in her hands. "Thank you… Gaara-sama."

Looking down at the mask held in her palms, she frowned upon it to herself – the mask of a traitor, a failure. Reluctantly, she returned the mask to its place on her back, turning back towards her summon who patiently waited behind her. Climbing onto Hanone's back of fur, she fastened herself, lightly clutching the thick white fur in her fingers while the wolf stood from the frost beneath. After exchanging a dutiful nod with the Kazekage, she nudged her wolf to follow the young Kazekage out of the lingering forest of white.

Not long after, they continued their journey to Ishigakure – prepared to finish their mission at last…


	25. Wolf's Confession

**Chapter 25  
** **Wolf's Confession**

* * *

As the afternoon sun escaped from the white clouds above, the barren landscape of the Land of Claws was finally within their sights.

Upon reaching the land's border, they were met with armed guards with spears who agreed to escort them to Ishigakure – the infamous village of the barbarian-people who tormented Yama since its formation more than one hundred years ago. Nestled within a cradle of boulders the village was shrouded in the shadows of the wastes that surrounded it, a faint but archaic glimmer of civilization. As they walked through the quiet and harsh village road, they were led to an old stone castle, its structure reminiscent of the Warring States Era and times of old – its worn red gates gleaming in the daylight as they passed through them. Before they could enter, the guards drew their spears towards Hanone as the wolf attempted to follow his porcelain-masked master and the Kazekage inside the keep. With an assuring glance, Nomasaki signaled for him to stay in the courtyard through the slits of her wolfish mask, the beast snarling in disgust in response to the armor-clad men who closed the doors behind her.

Sitting on the tatami floor of the large darkened room, Gaara and his assistant sat across from the village leader, an elderly man dressed in a dark green garb, with eyes that held obvious past war experience as a ninja. Despite this, he was calm and mild, with long white facial hair and a defined scar over his left eye – Zenken of the Wastes was the name he was well-known by across the western nations. Guards stood idly like statues at the doors behind the Sand shinobi with spears held at their hands, preventing anyone from entering to ensure the meeting was kept private.

Calmly, Zenken accepted the scroll that the young Kazekage had signed – placing it on the small table beside him by the dimly lit candle and the calligraphy set. "Well, Kazekage-sama," He finished with a nod. "Being that the agreement is now signed, our village takes full responsibility for the recent acts of terrorism that plagued the Land of Wind since the ending of the Third Shinobi War. Our past leadership was clouded by vengeance and deceit… As the new chieftain, I can only hope to resolve those wrongs and work towards a better future and put our hostile past behind us."

"Thank you." Gaara nodded, as he sat before him – his expression expressionless yet stern all at once. "Suna is looking forward to seeing Ishigakure as a neutral ally, rather than an tormented aggressor. Being that the Land of Claws is small, it would be in the best interests of both our villages to at least be amicable towards each other."

With a slight nod, Zenken bowed to his words in agreement. "I wholeheartedly agree, Kazekage-sama. Again, I would like to thank you for coming all this way. I can honestly say, I wasn't expecting your arrival. However, it is good that we met and can discuss things civilly such as this."

As he could feel a glare directed towards him, he turned towards the silent young woman who sat close to the Kazekage, her glare averted from his direction, but her strange lilac eyes filled with contempt and hatred – attempting to keep her emotions in check during the crucial meeting. Her mask was snarled in a mysterious manner, its porcelain finish shaped into a beast with red markings – a wolf. Turning to her, he examined her sorrowful expression of quiet pain – astounded and ashamed at the person who was before him.

"You, young woman,"

Jolting her, she turned to face him – wiping her expression clean of anger, masking it by an air of calmness. "Yes, sir?"

"Your eyes… You're a Yamamori, aren't you?"

Sadly, yet with a bitter glance in her eyes, she nodded – removing her mask so she could face him directly – her lilac eyes boring into his dark eyes with a hint of ferality. After a shared glance, the elderly chieftain bowed to her, surprising both her and Gaara from his gesture.

"As the leader of Ishigakure," He began. "I want to apologize for the actions of our past leadership. We've had skirmishes with your clan in the past and were blinded by seeking vengeance… Forgive us."

Glancing at her as he sat, Gaara awaited her response, curious as to if she should respond to the leader of the village who desecrated her clan and village. As she looked at the chieftain's gesture, her eyes closed halfway in sorrow. "Not to be rude, sir," She replied, quietly, as she averted her gaze. "But your apology is wasted on me, as I can't speak for my clan. They're dead, or at least… most of them." Turning back to face him, she narrowed her eyes into his – swallowing her pride. "However, if you can promise me to leave those remaining of my clan alone, that's all I would want from Ishigakure."

As Zenken sat up from his bow, he nodded in agreement. "Consider the promise kept." He said. "We apologize for the destruction of Yamagakure. Our past leadership was a dark time… we take full responsibility for the actions of our village."

With a tint of sadness in her eyes, she looked down, remembering her past home in the mountains – the never-ending snow she loved so much, the howls of the winds, her house on the hilltop where she was born and raised, and the loving comfort of her mother. Ishi took it all away from her, but she knew she had to let go of the hatred. Remembering what little Gaara spoke of to her on the mysterious Uchiha Sasuke of Konoha, she knew that vengeance would only lead to a path of darkness. Like Sasuke, they were possibly the last of their clans and both were ostracized yet sought for their unique genetics and bloodline by their enemies. After he sought the dangerous missing-nin for power - Sannin Orochimaru - Sasuke became one with the darkness and left his life in Konoha behind. She was in a uniquely sad position – her village ostracized her and her clan, she lost her home and her people within a single night, yet through a glimmer of hope she found herself starting over anew within Suna – thanks to her chance encounter with Gaara as she lay unconscious in the desert sands.

Nodding once as she held her head down, she closed her lilac eyes – acknowledging his promise and accepting his plea for forgiveness.

"Thank you."

"Sir," Gaara spoke, gaining his attention. "We would also like to mention that we encountered an assassin from your village while on our way here."

Moving his thick white cloak and unbuttoning the top of his shirt's collar, he exposed his bandages that were wrapped around his shoulder and chest – concealing his deep chest wound from the foe's lightning release jutsu. Surprised from his action, Nomasaki turned to him, watching him graze his bandages with his pale fingers – the wound he took to protect her while they fought in the Land of Rivers earlier that morning. The more she looked at his bandages, the more she could feel the overwhelming guilt consume her.

"As you can see, we had to engage in combat. Raigo of Ishi, your village. He was an S-Rank criminal… and was after the bloodline of my assistant who's here with me today."

Zenken's wrinkled eyes widened, shocked by the reveal. "What in the world?! No, that can't be!" He exclaimed, his palms hitting the tatami floor. "We would never do such a thing! Especially to our allies! Ishi has no intention to do harm, I give my word."

Gaara returned the cloak over his shoulder, concealing his recent injury that burned in his chest. "Are you certain about this?" He asked, sternly.

"We promise you, we as Ishigakure simply want peace." Zenken pleaded. "We would never knowingly send our own to assassinate our allies. I never issued an order to attack… and I'm certain my people have not acted against my will…"

With a stern glance, Gaara's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he thought more of the assassin they encountered in the snowy forest…

* * *

As they stepped out into the late afternoon sun of the caste courtyard, Hanone walked towards them – his large paws crushing the flowerbeds in his wake. Pausing before his master, he glanced at her faded lilac eyes. They were defeated, emotionally-spent, and blank.

"Your composure surprises me," He spoke, his teeth gnashing into a growl – ripping into the crisp dry air of the wastes. "If that were me, I'd slaughter them all! The bastards… it's their fault your clan is extinct! Not to mention, why Yama no longer exists!"

Walking towards the wolf, Nomasaki patted his mane of white before her, her eyes reluctantly void of emotion. "A shinobi must keep their emotions intact." She explained. "I… was simply following my duties for this mission for… the sake of Suna and Ishi." Looking down, she could feel her eyes swell heavily with sadness. "I know I would never forgive them, but… this is closure, and I appreciate it. If being a shinobi means to kill my emotions, so be it."

Turning to the west, she seen the snowy mountain chain of the Land of Mountains, the peak of Yama disappearing into the clouds above. With an ache in the pit of her heart, she could feel her eyes grow heavy with oncoming silent tears, knowing she could never truly forgive anyone, but she had to move on. Becoming a kunoichi was not in her destiny, but she accepted it fully – putting aside her feelings for the act of serving for the greater good. Although content in her decisions, it tore her to think about what would have been. Noticing her gaze towards the mountains, Gaara looked at her with a sympathetic gaze – understanding her grief for her forgotten homeland.

"Nomasaki,"

From his voice, she snapped out of her daze, jolting slightly. "R-Right. My apologies, Gaara. Er… Gaara-sama." She replied, turning to him. "We should return home and tell the council."

With a nod, they departed back to Suna, starting for the barren wastelands that claimed the Land of Claws…

* * *

Bypassing the snowy route along the Land of Rivers, the trio headed south towards the Land of Wind.

Opting for a faster path home, they risked the treacherous and unpredictable conditions of the vast desert that encompassed the landscape. After many hours of constant travel, they finally made it to the never-ending sands of the desert. As the evening approached, the desert suddenly turned cold, with the calm winds suddenly transforming into a vicious gale, sweeping across the desert and clouding the moon in the darkening night sky. While they kept on through the rising sands, the gusts of wind were so powerful they could barely move past them or see where they were going.

It was a brewing sandstorm.

"Just what we need at this hour…" Hanone grunted, his claws digging into the sands with great force while Nomasaki shielded her face with her mask as she sat on his back. "A sandstorm… If we were to take the way we came, we wouldn't have to worry about this! We should've known better than to let a Sand bastard lead the way…!"

As he tried use his sand to block himself from the powerful winds, Gaara looked to his side, catching sight of a large cave from a protruding series of ancient statues not far from where they stood. While he examined the sight from afar, he knew they would be safe if they camped there.

"We shouldn't waste time on grunting," He called out, the winds carrying away his voice into the brewing storm. "This way!" Gesturing to the sheltered stone cave, Hanone's struggled pace through the sand paused. "We have to take shelter! If we keep travelling through this, we could end up losing our path to Suna!"

"Hmph!" Hanone snarled, his muzzle gnashing his fangs in anger. "You mean you're not even strong enough to shield us from mere specks of sand?"

"Not as of yet." Gaara glared at him, the winds violently whisking past them. "My abilities haven't fully returned since the one-tail extraction, and I'm still injured from our encounter with the assassin."

"I agree with Gaara!" Nomasaki chimed in, hoping to dispel the argument. "The sandstorm could turn treacherous, there's no use in risking it! We should wait until it's clear!"

Growling silently, Hanone glared up at her as she sat on his back of white fur – although he respected and obeyed her decisions, he was growing to despise her consistently taking Gaara's side of their petty arguments. Just as he feared, the bastard blood of her nameless father was circulating within her veins as she grew older. Unfortunate for her, she was not a pure Yamamori like her mother. She was only a 'half-blood' as was spoken by the elders of those descending from two separate bloodlines. The great wolf was reminded of that fact every waking day he saw her within the hot desert lands. Deep down, he knew that choosing to stay in Suna was a grave mistake, and it never failed to anger him whenever he looked upon the stoic, pale face and ringed-eyes belonging to the once-feared jinchuriki.

The Kazekage was a threat to his master.

Turning to her, Gaara gestured to the cave with a nod as the winds picked up – howling against the dunes without mercy. "This way."

As the young Kazekage started towards their shelter, Hanone begrudgingly followed not far behind him…

* * *

When nightfall drew near, the winds had not yet ceased, with the sandstorm proving to be relentless in nature.

As the hours passed, the storm progressed in a blind terror – preventing them from leaving their small refuge. Sitting on the cave floor, Gaara looked across the darkened cavern towards the great wolf and his assistant. Laying by the cave wall, Hanone laid curled with his ears perked to the sounds of the winds, with Nomasaki sleeping silently on his back of snow-white fur, her back turned to him – her tracker-nin mask in view. With an intent gaze, he observed her sleep, deeply envying the prospect of gaining rest as his tired eyes ached from insomnia.

Catching wind of the young Kazekage's glance, Hanone closed his eyes and smirked, a short grunt passing through his black nostrils.

"What is it?" Gaara asked, glancing at the beast with narrowed eyes – sensing his discontent. "Hanone, I'm not in the mood to argue with you… so what are you laughing at?"

"The way you look at her… It's the same way you've been looking at her for the past three years, ever since she came to these cursed lands of Suna." The wolf scoffed. "As if she's some sort of specimen for your people's amusement… her strangeness drawing you close to her like a moth to a flame."

Gaara's eyes narrowed in curiosity, as well as in surprise – taking slight offense to his comments. "What do you mean?" He questioned. "What are you getting at?"

"Young Kazekage …do you have feelings for her?"

Shocked, his ringed-eyes greatly widened, feeling as though his heart stopped from the accusation.

Frozen by the wolf's sudden question, his thoughts on the mission came to a screeching halt in his mind as he attempted to mentally wrangle with the words the beast uttered from his fanged jaws. Not once had the thought crossed his mind in the three years he had known her - not ever. There were feelings of comfort, feelings of protection, and the shared mutual respect as Kazekage and assistant - but were there other feelings he had not seen? That was something he had to think about carefully.

Still, he beast's words shocked him to his core while he sat across from him in that cave - while his assistant lay asleep and unaware of the conversation.

"Because… I believe she has developed feelings for you." Suddenly, the wolf's muzzle formed a vicious snarl, barring his jagged teeth from across the cave floor. "If you don't return those feelings she harbors, I suggest you find yourself another assistant and let her return to the mountains where she belongs!"

"...No," He spoke, looking down at his lap with wide eyes – still absorbing the wolf's words. "That's a lie. I... think you're mistaken."

"Hmph?! What makes you think that?"

Averting his gaze, Gaara mulled over his reasoning. "She's my assistant and a kunoichi. She knows full well not to let feelings get in the way of her duties. Besides…"

Closing his turquoise eyes halfway as he looked down at the cave floor, he remembered the darkness that encased him not long before they first met. He was enveloped within it, cradling him with the power and murderous thoughts of a monster. Shukaku fed into his consciousness and he let the beast echo its desires and bloodthirsty for the first thirteen years of his young life.

On the day he told her of his past, it was a day grim with silence. His office had never felt so alienating until that moment when he saw her avert her eyes from him in fear. _"_ _I... can't believe it... That's so horrible. I had no idea..."_ The way her words resonated within him made him remember the sheen of her saddened eyes. It reminded him of the fearful tremble her eyes held as she witnessed Shukaku emerge when he rescued her from her kidnappers years ago. It was unforgettable to him. _"Now you know,"_ He remembered saying. _"You know the entire truth of it. I must ask you... has your loyalty changed? You can tell me, Nomasaki."_. Surprising him, she stepped forward towards him in his office that evening. Her timid eyes met his curious glance, her expression brave and unwavering. _"I trust you, Gaara-sama. You are the Kazekage, and to you I promise my loyalty as your assistant. Remember - you are also my friend... Please, don't forget that."_.

Her brave and warm words caught him by surprise that day. She truly was kind-hearted, he thought - the look in her eyes evoked her honesty. While he pondered his thoughts, he wondered if she only tried to spare him the hurt. Before he could push himself to think of the words, his lips spoke them before he had a chance.

"…She knows who I am… or what I was."

The wolf scoffed. "She would never say this to you, but she was deeply afraid of Shukaku's presence. But she knows you are no monster, or Shukaku. She admires you for the person you have become, and she's seen it happen from the very start."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" He questioned, silently surprised by the wolf's confession. "I know you're not entirely fond of me… so why even tell me this?"

Briefly, Hanone laughed monstrous bellow, amused by the young Kazekage's obliviousness to the proof before him. "You humans are all the same!" He grunted. "So suspicious… You can choose to believe me or not, it's up to you. She's of the snow… the fact that she can adapt to life in your village astounds me. It must come from her wretched father..."

Piercingly, the wolf glared at him with slit yellow eyes as a snarl escaped its muzzle. As he bore his beastly eyes through the young Kazekage, he could feel his blood boil beneath his thick coat of white. Not a human before him had stirred him so other than the lover of his previous master - and he knew how that story ended. Trying not to wake the young woman sleeping on his back, the monstrous wolf dug its claws into the dirt to control himself - his muffled growling breaking into the cave air around them.

"That's why I don't care for you or your people… Her mother put her trust in a ninja of your village and was betrayed! You'll do the same to Nomasaki… I know you would once you came across the chance, like the true sand-bastard you are! In case you're curious as to why I don't care for you, Gaara of the Sand Waterfall… I don't exactly trust humans... especially those who lurk from the desert!"

Tensely, they exchanged a bitter glance. Striking a chord within him, Gaara glared back at the beast - wishing that Nomasaki would wake so that she could silence her summon. It was futile - she was in a very deep sleep, judging from her still silence as her back was facing him in the night from her wolf's snow-white mount. In response to his narrowed ringed-eyes, the wolf barred his pearl white fangs to him in feral aggression.

"If you hurt her, I'll rip you apart limb from limb!" The wolf snarled. "That's a promise… I'm willing to face death for that."

Listening to his threat, Gaara glared at the wolf in retaliation – his ringed-eyes conveying his bitter distaste for the summon his assistant called forth into battle. Tiredly, Hanone yawned. Closing his eyes, he laid his head against his large white paws – sleeping out the remaining hours of the desert sandstorm. As Gaara sat awake from insomnia, he felt his wound pulse in his chest. He winced, grasping it lightly. Jolting for a moment, he realized something. As he touched the bandages, he admired the careful handiwork and care that went into his healing.

Despite not knowing any medical ninjutsu, she still tried her best to heal him. She cared deeply for him, and her feelings were conveyed to him as his fingers grazed his soft bandages. As he watched her turn over in her sleep, he remembered every moment they spent together since she became his assistant, realizing he always felt a certain way around her - a comforting, warm feeling. He felt it whenever she spoke, when he would see her bright lilac eyes glancing up at him, and when she would smile gently at him. He would never admit it, but she made him content and at ease.

Then, he realized.

It was because she was precious to him.

She was.

Thinking of the words of his late uncle Yashamaru spoke to him as a child on protecting those precious, he observed her peacefully sleep that night with a protective and unwavering gaze.

Not taking his eyes off her for a second…


	26. Bloodline

**Chapter 26  
** **Bloodline**

* * *

Days after their return to Suna, before their superior a Sand ninja was kneeling within a darkened room devoid of light. Deep within the inner workings of the Kazekage's mansion, the tracking unit corps was located in secrecy, with only the tracker-nin, councilmen, and select ANBU being aware of their meeting place. Their tracker-nin mask gleamed from the sole sliver of light that peaked through the pipes above them, its creamy porcelain texture appearing feral and wolfish, adorned in red markings and menacing scowl. Upon their flak jacket and sleeves, the evidence of recently completing a mission was made obvious as the presence of dirt and combat was easy to conclude. Obediently, they awaited for commands from their master, the captain of Suna's tracking unit – Moro, the stern-faced man who ran the tracking unit corps from behind the scenes with an iron fist.

"Good," Moro spoke, his back facing the masked shinobi. "It appears your tracking abilities are refined as ever, you were indeed a useful find." Turning around, his aged scarred face gazed towards her, sternly. "Nomasaki of the Yamamori clan. For an outsider, you certainly give your unquestioned service for the good of our realm."

Taking off her mask, she met his glance, meeting his with an expression stoic and calm in nature. "Thank you for allowing me to enter the ranks of the tracking unit," She replied, nodding once. "My mission was completed, so I'm pleased you appreciate the results."

Turning towards the fragile sunbeams entering from the broken piping in the ceiling, his dark eyes narrowed. "The elders on the Suna Council are still uneasy of your heritage, but they're warming up… thanks to you reporting to them on the Kazekage and his activities."

Pondering his words, she looked down for a moment as she could feel the guilt seep into her veins. For even months after the loss of Shukaku, she was still being instructed to spy on her superior without his knowledge. After the theft of the tailed-beast, she felt a growing closeness to Gaara as a companion, friend, and something more. It tore her to betray him, but her duty was to the village as a tool. However, she remembered his shielding of her during their encounter with the feared Raigo of Ishigakure, how fast he appeared before her and how he stood in front of her without hesitation – he willingly protected her without a second thought.

Gathering her thoughts, she looked up to her commander, who stood across from her in the darkened room. "Speaking of which," She added. "May I stop my spying on him, since he is no longer a jinchuriki?" Guilt evident in her lilac eyes, she glanced to the floor - her eyes closed halfway in sadness and betrayal. "Since... Shukaku is no longer a threat to the village, I mean."

"Is this a change of heart?"

Jolting her slightly, she averted his eye contact. "N-No, well... Gaara-sama... I'm his assistant, so I feel... guilty for keeping tabs on him behind his back. He is no threat to Suna, he is a great Kazekage… He only has the best interests of the village at heart." She said, her voice low. "Also… I'm… growing worried of Kenzō-sama. I want to be free from his plans… if anything, he threatens the village, not Kazekage-sama." Swallowing her nervousness for speaking out of turn, she faced him through her wolfish mask, her lilac eyes prepared for authority to strike her down. "So… would it be alright if I ended this assignment?"

Turning away, he stepped back towards the front of the room, his cloaked back facing her once again with hands folded tightly. "You've been a member of the tracking unit as a rookie for nearly two years... and now you're attempting to go against orders?" He scoffed. "May I remind you, you disobeyed commands when you aided Kazekage-sama's siblings in tracking him down when he was taken by the Akatsuki. Well, then..." Biting her tongue, she looked down – prepared for his harsh punishment for her failure to obey her mission. "I'll relay your request to Kenzō-sama. You're dismissed."

Accepting her fate, she nodded, her eyes closed in regret. "Yes, sir." Standing up, she started for the door.

"I expect you to report when called."

From his words, she paused, turning to Moro with a surprised yet curious expression.

"From this day on, you are no longer a rookie, but an equal to the tracking unit." He stated, turning to face her. His expression was stern, yet also welcoming at the same time. Although he was a fearful man, his comradeship stood above all else. "I give you the name... 'Wolf of the Desert'. You will live up to that name as a shinobi of Sunagakure, and a tracker-nin who protects the village from the inside."

Bowing to him in acceptance and relief, she smiled, lightly. "Sir," She acknowledged. "Thank you."

* * *

Later that day, within the Kazekage's office…

With his back against the wall, Kankuro stood near Gaara's seat at his desk – discussing the outcome of the recent mission in the Land of Claws as Gaara filled out some paperwork. "So, they accepted in the end, huh?" Kankuro asked.

"Yes." Gaara replied with a nod, focusing on the task at hand. "That village is now an ally with ours, albeit still strongly neutral. Negotiations weren't easy, but it's solved." Averting his glance, his eyes narrowed as he mulled over his thoughts – was the council involved in their encounter with the mysterious assassin?

In his cocky nature, Kankuro closed his eyes and smirked. "Times have changed, that's for sure. I thought Nomasaki might get kidnapped again by those ninja… whatever vendetta they have against her clan seems very ingrained into their line of thinking." When he turned to his little brother, Gaara shot him a dark glare, piercing him. Slightly jarred by his reaction, he averted his glace with a sigh.

- _Sheesh… what is it with him? It was only a joke…_ -

"Oh, speaking of Nomasaki, where is she?"

"She's gone on a mission with the tracking unit. She won't be back until later. Why?"

"I was just curious. We might need her and the tracking unit to help with our next mission with the puppet corps." Closing his eyes for a moment, Kankuro smirked again. "I'm just surprised you didn't want to tag along with her again this time."

His pen freezing on a stroke, Gaara's hand jolted on his lap as he began to feel flustered – spoken into a corner. Unbeknownst to him, his cheeks reddened slightly. "Kankuro, Nomasaki's a jonin-level kunoichi." He stated, sternly. "She can handle things herself. Besides, that was a rare instance, as the council specifically requested us to embark together on that mission to Ishigakure. Nothing more."

With a sigh, Kankuro lifted his back from against the wall. "You're probably right." He agreed. "She is a scary fighter. She doesn't look it, but I'd hate to be the person she'd be up against."

* * *

 _He remembered that time near three years ago, during his second attempt at the Chunin Exams in Kumo…_

 _During the preliminary matches before the final rounds, Nomasaki was pitted against a hulking Kumo ninja in the arena, a terrifyingly large fire-release user with rippling muscles and a loud, booming voice. In the arena, there she stood as he remembered - a tiny pixie with average muscle mass and wind-release. However, much to her enemy's misfortune, she also was equipped with her Kekkei Genkai. Although the odds were definitely against her as the fire ignited the battlefield, her eager teammates still cheered her on - with the Sand Siblings closely watching from outside the ring, watching the young girl shake off her skin and become a feral beast – lunging towards the opponent. The fight was over in just a matter of minutes…_

* * *

Remembering the sight, he could feel a small bead of sweat on his face – picturing the wolf's snarling lunges in his mind. - _She near tore that guy to shreds… good thing she's soft or that really would've been a mess…_ -

After hearing Kankuro speak, Gaara's ringed-eyes closed halfway in hidden sorrow at the paper and files on his office desk in silence - remembering what Hanone revealed to him the other night. The words the wolf spoke to him the night before mulled over in his mind, tormenting him if it was fact or fiction. Noticing the sudden quietness in the room, Kankuro looked back to his little brother.

"You worried about her, Gaara?"

"No, that's not it." He replied, quietly.

"Then what?" Kankuro pressed. "Something wrong?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed at the desk. "It's nothing…" He answered, no emotion on his tone at all.

"I was hoping I'd find you two together,"

Turning towards the doorway, Kankuro gave a slightly surprised expression towards his sister as she entered with the door closing behind her. Her eyes were narrowed as she entered, her glance seemingly concerning. Gaara could sense something within her eyes of emerald as she entered the room. Something was off.

"Temari," Kankuro spoke. "What brings you here? Did your assignment end early?"

"I came to discuss something privately with you two," She said, her tone slate-like. Stepping closer towards Gaara's desk, she gave him a serious look from her eyes. "It's about _her_ , your assistant."

"What of her?" Gaara questioned, raising a brow suspiciously. "What's on your mind?"

"I know you're close to Nomasaki, and so am I... we were partners during our join training together." Temari started. "She helped us find where you were taken back when the Akatsuki stole Shukaku, and I'm in debt to her for that. It's just..." Her words trailed as she could see the suspicious intrigue of his ringed-eyes. "I believe she's hiding something from us, from all of us."

"Hiding what?" Kankuro entered. "Surely you don't think she's an enemy, Temari... Do you?"

Temari bit her lip as she chose her words carefully. "I'm not sure... but her superior is."

"Her superior?"

"Commander Moro is the leader of the Sunagakure Tracking Unit," Gaara answered. "He's been a trusted confidant for years -,"

"That's not who I'm talking about," Temari interrupted, briskly. "It's someone from the council."

"The council?" Gaara repeated, taken aback as his eyes narrowed. "Who?"

"Who else?" She said. "That elder, Kenzō - the one with ties to the tracking unit himself."

Gaara's eyes widened from the name. Kenzō, the elder who sat in on all his meetings - the one who they said was 'one with the shadows'. Remembering all the times he would see them interact with another, he remembered the averted glances Nomasaki would direct away from the councilman when he would enter a room - or the times where the councilman would eye her with a glare in brief silence. She would shiver every time.

"As much as I hate to say it..." Temari said, closing her eyes as she held her head low. "But I think she may be a subordinate of his."

Averting his expression, Kankuro gnashed his teeth in dismay. "Damn it," He cursed. "Just as I was beginning to trust her... Do you know for certain?"

"I eavesdropped on her after Gaara was recovered from the Land of Rivers, I heard everything."

"Everything?"

"Yes… everything."

Gaara could not find the words to speak. His eyes widened as his glance locked upon his folded hands at his desk, he felt the wind leave him. Things suddenly made sense in his eyes. All her strange behavior, her lurking in the halls at sundown, and her sudden disappearances that often went unnoticed – all pointed towards the undesirable conclusion. In his memories, she was his dutiful assistant, being there for him as he went about his commitment to his village while she stood at his back in support. She saved him from the Akatsuki with his siblings and gave him her unconditional friendship. Was everything he felt about her a lie - or rather, was everything she was towards him a lie? As the pain tinged in his chest from behind his bandages, he remembered Hanone's words and her loving care that went into his healing. As she stood before him on that snow-riddled land, he remembered the kind and caring glint from her violet eyes as she soothed the wound with alcohol – and how he felt as if he could not bear to be without her. His thoughts twisted inside of him like a knife to the heart.

"Gaara?"

With a tinge of worry visible in his dark brown eyes, Kankuro examined his silent and stunned expression. Although it had been moments since Temari spoke, Gaara had not yet given a response. Locked upon the desk, his expression was stuck between a frown and a scowl while his widened eyes evoked shock and hurt. It was strange of him to see him like this, he thought – although he understood the harsh circumstances. Temari followed Kankuro's glance towards the young Kazekage, her green eyes closed halfway in sympathy. She did not want to believe it was true either, but alas – here they were. Suddenly, someone started knocking on the office door. To their surprise, a Kumo ninja of the Land of Lightning had entered his office alongside two idle Suna ANBU who guarded his quarters in the vast mansion.

"Sorry to interrupt, Kazekage-sama," He started. "But I have an urgent message to give you from Raikage-sama, regarding the Akatsuki!"

Stepping forward, the Kumo ninja passed along a scroll. Reaching forward, Gaara began to read its contents while Kankuro stood by with stern and curious eyes. "I see." He said, his eyes narrowing at the open scroll in his hands. "A Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron… concerning the matter of the Akatsuki and their motives…"

"And your response, sir?"

With serious eyes, the young Kazekage looked up to the Kumo ninja. "Tell the Raikage I accept," He replied. "We'll be there at the summit."

Urgently, the Kumo ninja nodded. "Very well, Kazekage-sama." He said. "I'll relay your reply to Raikage-sama immediately!"

Within a moment, the Kumo ninja departed for his homeland to the far eastern coast– ready to report back to his leader on the matter…

* * *

As the sun was setting that evening, Gaara stood alone on the rooftop of the Kazekage's estate, looking down at his village from above as his mind was full of thoughts – the wolf's words, the Suna Council, his assistant and her treachery, and the Five Kage Summit. Within an instant, a masked shinobi appeared knelt behind him in a cloud of white smoke. Hearing them approach, he glanced to them.

"You're back," He spoke. "And the mission?"

Removing her mask as she stood up, Nomasaki walked towards him. "It was a success," She nodded up at him, pausing as she stood beside him. "Our village's secrets are once again safe." Looking out at the village in her view, she smiled to herself. "The tracking unit… I think I'm going to like it, now that I'm no longer a rookie."

"I see." He acknowledged, gazing out at the desert horizon. "…Congratulations, then. You've earned it."

Slightly jolting from his words, she gave a friendly smile, masking her hidden guilt she felt for her duties – her covert spying behind her. "Thank you."

Following his gaze, she looked down at the village as well as a gentle breeze blew past them, swaying her long strands of golden blonde and his messy head of crimson. Although she could not put her finger on it, she felt as if something were off as they stood beside one another. The air between the felt thick with the heat and an unsaid tension. A blade would seldom slice through it, with the silence proving too great of an obstacle. Despite the heat, she could send a brisk frigidness to the winds.

"There's a Five Kage summit in the Land of Iron. We depart in the morning."

"R-Really?" She asked, turning to him in surprise. "A summit? Why so sudden?"

"It's the Akatsuki," He replied, narrowing his eyes on the view. "Their activities are becoming more worrisome, now that they're acquired nearly all the tailed-beasts."

"Akatsuki…" She repeated, quietly.

Looking down with narrowed eyes, she remembered her brief glimpse of their power. That night months ago, she had the unfortunate sight of witnessing Gaara get captured by the missing-nin Deidara of Iwagakure. From the blast within the darkened skies, the Kazekage fell to his death – caught by the giant bird of clay the criminal was perched upon. While his cloak of the red clouds fluttered in the wind as he flew off, she remembered the hopelessness she felt as she watched from below.

"They are a troublesome bunch… Even with our brief encounter with them months ago, their chakra was truly disturbing. It's a wonder that Naruto was able to take down their leader by himself." As the breeze blew past them again, her smile slowly faded with the winds. "You'll… be back soon, right?"

Turning to her, he gazed into her eyes and nodded. After she gave a slight nod in relief, he returned his gaze back upon the desert, his ringed-eyes narrowing. "My sand… I think I figured it out. My Ultimate Defense is restored, and even stronger than it was with Shukaku. I managed to fine-tune it when we returned from Ishi, so now I'm able to serve the village as the Kazekage… and at my full strength."

Surprised, she turned to him. "Oh, that's a relief!" She smiled. "I'm glad, especially since Temari and Kankuro will be going with you on your journey, I assume."

Looking back at the village, her eyes closed halfway in concern – the thought of the Akatsuki and their hidden motives chilling her. Hiding her worry, she turned to him with her familiar friendly smile of warmth. "Just… be careful. I know you're the Kazekage, but I still worry when you leave the village. Especially since I won't be there to watch over you! Take care of yourself for me, okay?"

After she spoke, he turned to her, witnessing her warm, gentle smile towards him. Gazing at her with a pleading and saddened glance in his seafoam eyes, he wanted to ask if what the wolf said was true, but had no idea know how to even begin.

"Gaara!"

Jolting from the sound of the creaking wooden door, Kankuro entered the rooftop – stepping out from the doorway with his pack of scrolls under his arm. "We must be prepared to leave first thing in the morning for the summit in the Land of Iron."

"Right." Gaara nodded, turning to him. Glancing back to her, his expression remained stoic and calm. "I'll be seeing you when we return. Until then, keep an eye on things."

Slightly surprised, she turned to him and nodded. "Y-Yes." She stammered, giving a light smile at the two brothers. "Safe travels, to the three of you."

"Thanks," Kankuro waved from the doorway.

Although brief, as she met his eyes, she found a hint of suspicion lingering in his half-acted smile towards her. The briskness of the wind returned, chilling her but only for a moment. As he began to walk off with his brother, Gaara briefly turned back to her, noticing her worry hidden behind her eyes of warm lilac. Briefly, they shared a longing glance, as if they could sense each other's emotions from a mere gaze within the rays of the setting sun. At the same time, she felt him examining her thoroughly – his ringed-eyes narrowed slightly the same way as Kankuro but with a glint of empathy. Her instincts instantly rose within in, her mind trying to piece together their glances into a reasonable conclusion. With the closing of the door, he was gone – preparing to depart Suna with his siblings for the first Five Kage Summit in decades. Staring into the orange desert horizon, she stood on the rooftop alone – gazing into the sunset with her eyes closed halfway in concern. Deep down within her senses, her instincts gave her a bad feeling, unnerving her as she stood above the desert village.

"Don't tell me it's true,"

Startling her, she turned towards the beast-like voice, her gold hair whipping against her cheeks. With his paws crossed as he sat, Hanone was glaring down at her from on top of the water tower behind her. "You can't possibly have feelings for that Sand bastard…" He scoffed. "He's your superior. You serve him. Don't forget… you're also spying on him for the council, so he is your enemy."

Flustered and shocked at his wording, she jolted from his accusation. "I-I…! How would you know?" She stammered, taken aback. "I'm just his assistant! Naturally, I'm just going to worry if he leaves the village!" Averting her glance, she could feel the guilt swell up inside of her, sorrow returning to her eyes. "I'm relieved of my spying duties… Gaara-sama is not my enemy, he is my friend. Nothing more…"

"Hmph… Just remember what Suna did to your family. You're of the snow, it's best to not mix with sand."

Sadly, she looked down. "I know, but…" She replied, quietly – remembering the warmth of his chakra that she sensed only moments ago. "He's different… There's good in him. You, of all things should sense it, too…" Dismayed, he snarled, turning away from her as his muzzle curled in disgust. "And don't forget," She reminded, her eyes becoming serious as she narrowed her glance at him. "I have Sand blood in my veins, not just from Yama."

"You are not your father!" Hanone shot back with a growl, turning to her with a threatening glare – his white fur arched on his back in anger. "But the more you stay here, the more alike you're becoming!"

Taken aback by his warning, she grimaced, turning away towards the sunset, folding her arms against her chest as she averted her gaze in sadness. "What am I supposed to do then, Hanone?" She asked, quietly. "I don't know what you want from me…"

"Don't fall for the Kazekage! You'll only be hurt, in the end. You're a wolf, you belong elsewhere."

Before her eyes as she turned, Hanone disappeared in a cloud of smoke - dispelling his summoning of his own free will. Concern and sorrow in her eyes once more, she looked at where he once sat - pondering her life choices and wondering if staying in Suna was a mistake, after all…


	27. The Costs of Duty

**Chapter 27**  
 **The Costs of Duty**

* * *

Swiftly, Nomasaki felt his palm strike her across her cheek as she sat knelt before him.

Knocking her onto the cold floor of the dimly lit chamber that evening, she slowly brought herself to look Kenzō in the eyes as he stood before her with great anger – her face throbbing with pain from his hard palm. The Kazekage was gone for not even a week, but that was a long enough time for her past actions to catch up with her as she rose up from the darkened room within in the stucco confines of the mansion.

"How can you live with yourself?" He chided. "You're a pathetic excuse for a shinobi of our ranks. I ordered you to remain in Suna… You were forbidden from aiding in the rescue of the Kazekage! Yet my subordinates of the shadows tell me you led the search to the Land of Rivers."

"I… –!"

A loud crack echoed throughout the room – his hand striking her once more.

Wincing from the pain, she tried her best to contain her cries of pain and urge to fight back as she could feel her blood boil underneath. He was a councilman, and a senior one at that. If she attacked him, she would easily have been painted as the aggressor and locked away within the cells of the Sunagakure Prison far within the desert - if they were being merciful, that is. From where she stood with him, being locked away would be her best bet for survival. Swallowing her pride and accepting her repercussions, she remained passive as he began to pace around her - circling her like the buzzard he was.

"I sent my best after you... Tojiru. He was my right-hand... and here I have my men find him at the banks of a river in a distant land. Why is that?"

 _He knew. He knew. He knew_.

Panicked, her thoughts raced as her fingernails dug into the clay floor below. Her worst fear was finally realized and she was ill-prepared. Pleading for the smallest mercy, she could feel her arms tremor at her sides as the sound of her breath awoke her from her internal panic. All she could do was tell the truth, for that was all she had left. Sitting calmly, she placed her palms upon her dress' lap and locked her gaze upon the floor, the dull gleam of her violet eyes near hidden from her head as it hung low.

"I... can explain," She began, her quiet voice shaking as she averted her glance. "I was... acting in self-defence...-,"

The crack of his palm against the back of her neck left her gasping for breath as she felt her body strike the cold floor below.

"Lies!"

As she struggled to lift herself up, she could feel her whole body shiver from the reality she faced in that room. Standing before her, his feet solidified their place as he glared down at her in disgust for the beast that quivered on the floor.

"You knew the orders you were set to follow… Is this how you expect to pay your debt to Suna? By treachery? I should've sent my men after you when I had the chance… I no longer have use for a broken tool such as you."

"I'm… not broken… –!"

Falling back, his hand cracked her cheekbone yet again.

"You disobeyed commands!" He yelled, his eyes burning through hers in rage. "You broke your shinobi oath. As a Jonin, you're a complete and total disgrace… Shinobi obey orders from on high, and never question the mission at hand. You disobeyed your orders given to you by your commander… that is a crime far worse than death in the shinobi world…!"

Smirking to himself in pity, he glanced at her glaring expression as she slowly stood herself up from the floor – her face already bruised from his strikes.

"You're an embarrassment to our ranks. You _failed_ to fulfill your debt, you _failed_ to prove yourself as one of our own... _and you failed to kill the Kazekage_."

"No..." She muttered, mustering the strength to lift herself up. "I did not fail... I kept my oath...!"

Glancing up to him, a faint line of a smirk appeared on her bloodied lips. A strange sense of pride washed over her, reminding her that she had nothing more to lose. She lost - and she was willing to sacrifice all her remaining honor. Knowing that her death was imminent, she felt all the weight from her life vanish from her trembling shoulders.

"I kept my oath... as Kazekage-sama's assistant! I was his confidante, and I am... his friend! My love for him is stronger than my fear of you!"

She said it.

Love.

At last, she finally admitted it to herself out in the open - and before the glares of her enemy. In the scowling face of her adversary, she saw the reflection of her unwavering admiration sitting upon the cold floor. She almost did not recognize herself for a moment. It was not the bloodied lip or the bruises that were carved into her cheeks that surprised her, but the courage laced within the flecks of her violet eyes.

"What's this?" He furrowed, disgusted. "Could it be that you feel something for that creature? The failed jinchuriki who his own _father_ wanted dead?" A snort escaped him as he laughed. "I should've known... You monsters do tend to flock together, as wretched as you are... A tanuki and his wolf... how disgusting!"

"The one who's disgusting - is _you_ ," She retorted, her eyes brave. "You're the one betraying the village... not me."

Her muscles aching from her strikes, she rose from the clay floor with her face injured and stoic. She was no longer trembling, but still. Not even the wind could move her if it dared to enter. While she stood on her feet in silence, she could feel the wolf within her stir with the want to retaliate. Her instincts were at the forefront of her mind, her inner beast boiling in the blood beneath her trembling skin.

She had enough.

"You're power-hungry and selfish. Kazekage-sama - Gaara - is neither of those things! Where is your honor, my lord? Do you have any left?"

"Stupid girl! I should've known better than to trust a filthy beast!"

Before he had a chance to strike her one final time, she swiftly grabbed his wrist with her palm – squeezing it with great strength as she edged closer to him with a ferocious glare. Her lilac eyes appeared feral to him as they locked onto his gaze – seething with controlled anger. Struggling, he could not break her grasp – shocking him from her actions.

"Hn…?!"

"I'm no beast… but my summon is…!" She spat through her growing canines – her wolfishness coursing through her veins in retaliation. "Strike me again, and it will be the last time you have hands! I dare you to try… but I can't promise you he'll hold back... I won't."

Sweat beading on his face from her threat, he could feel every bit of rage from her words as she held his wrist enough to break it. Damn her, he thought - she was stronger than he anticipated. Unfortunately for him, her training as a tracker-nin worked in her favor better than his. Thinking that he could harness and control the kekkei genkai of the forgotten clan of the mountains was a poor decision on his part. Her feral glare and intent to kill proved it.

His double-edged sword came back to haunt him.

"Kenzō-sama! Stop this, at once!"

As the black leather clad commander approached, Nomasaki promptly released Kenzō from her hold – stepping back as she saw her captain draw near. Accompanied by two tracker-nin who walked silently at his sides with their masks and sheathed blades, Commander Moro paused before the two of them – his attention directed towards the scheming councilman.

"Commander Moro," Kenzō ordered, gesturing to Nomasaki – who stood silent and bruised close by. "Get this foreigner-traitor out of my sight! She broke her oath and went against the assignment given to her by the council. She murdered my right-hand, have her be tried by the council -,"

Glancing towards her and noticing the nervous tint in her eyes, Moro turned back to the councilman with a stern expression. "No," He answered. "That won't be necessary."

"What?! How can you…?!"

"She was relieved of her assignment recently by my authority and… at her request. A reminder to you that she briefly served you and your fellow conspirators – not the entire Suna Council. As Commander of the Suna tracking unit, I would like to have more faith in our council than that."

"Commander Moro," Kenzō argued, as if bargaining. "Listen to reason – the tracker-nin corps has always been faithful to my cooperation –,"

"Not anymore," Moro barked, putting his foot down – as his masked subordinates eyed the councilman with narrowed eyes through their porcelain shrouds. "From this day forward, the tracking unit hereby rescinds its collaboration with your dissident ways." Shocked, Kenzō jolted from his words – gritting his teeth in frustration. "The tracking unit has always stood for the good of Suna, and your motives are putting the future of the village in uncertain jeopardy."

"You can't possibly be serious? The Kazekage-!"

"Is our Kazekage!" Moro interrupted, sternly. "The village has never been in a better position politically in its entire history until now. Our village is prosperous and peaceful… and not thanks to you."

Clenching his fists at his sides in anger, Kenzō gnashed his teeth – turning away in anger as he departed for the chamber's exit. Pausing briefly in the doorway, he glanced back at the commander and his former subordinate with a dark glare.

"You're going to regret this day… Mark my words."

"I highly doubt it," Moro spoke under his breath.

Once the councillor was gone, Moro looked towards the doorway with his eyes narrowed in suspicion for his future actions – did he old any meaning to his warning? Turning to Nomasaki, he noticed her gaze was directed towards where Kenzō walked – her lilac eyes containing evident fright for his return. His sympathetic nature of his growing age seeped out of him – glancing at her with concern.

"Were you hurt?"

Jolting slightly from the commander's question, Nomasaki turned to face him. The right side of her face was near blue from the councillor's strikes against her – painting her porcelain skin along her cheekbone. Rubbing her face with the blue sleeve of her dress, she looked down at the floor with her eyes closed halfway.

"Yeah," She nodded, averting her gaze in guilt. "I'll be fine. Thank you, Moro-sama."

After meeting her guilt-ridden glance, he turned his back towards her – his palms folded at the back of his flak jacket. "For now, keep this under wraps from the council. I will sort things out… being that Kenzō is our proxy with the advisors." He spoke in his stern and husky voice. Sensing her solemn nod behind him, he glanced towards her – his eyes narrowed. "And don't say anything to Kazekage-sama. This matter doesn't concern him. I know you're his assistant, but he doesn't need to know our inner squabbles."

Surprised by his orders, she held her head low – her sadness and guilt swelling up into her chest. Obediently and thankful, she nodded.

"Understood... thank you..."

* * *

Dark approached quicker than she thought.

Stepping out of the estate's grounds, Nomasaki scanned her surroundings alert and paranoid of any would-be spies who were waiting for the right moment to strike. The grounds where shrouded in shadows, the night sky dimming the last flicker of the sun beyond the sands of the great desert. The towering buildings that she passed appeared as if they were reaching out towards her, her frantic heart pounding in her chest as she walked on alone. It would only be a matter of time before Kenzō would make his final move - and kill her and whoever else defied his commands. Gaara was still in the Land of Iron at the Summit, days away from either intervening or meeting an inevitable coup staged by his senior advisor. If the village was to descend into chaos, it would be her fault. _Her fault_ \- the outsider they took in, joined their ranks, and wore their emblem. They let the wolf in through their door and with it brought nothing but misfortune. Her thoughts ran troubled as she continued on her fast pace in the growing darkness, the wind kissing her hot cheek of fresh bruises.

Not a soul was around her, not even the regular guards.

It were as if the entire village fell silent - not even the streets sounded of life.

Something did not feel right in her senses at all.

Hearing his paws clatter against the rooftop nearby, she paused as his strong and feral chakra filled her senses. Hanone eyed her suspiciously, his fangs glimmering in the dark. In the blackened night, his white fur made him appear as if a ghost - still and silent against the winds. A faint growl escaped his muzzle, rumbling between them. Seeing him was a thankful sight, but only heightened her need to be worried. _He must be able to sense them, too_ \- she thought.

"Nomasaki," He grumbled, his tail prickling in the winds. "I sensed the chakra of others lurking nearby. What's happened?" Noticing the marks embedded along her cheekbone, the wolf gnashed his jagged teeth with a rising snarl in fury. "Did _he_ do this to you?"

Blankly, she met his furious yellow eyes. "Yes," Averting his snarls, she shuddered at the thought, touching her numb face. "He knows... I've been found out."

"I'll rest his head between my jaws, I swear it!" Hanone fumed, his black nostrils flaring. "He's a deadman! Let me devour him!"

"Never mind that," She started towards him hastily, her heart frantic. "We have to leave - now!"

Before she had the chance to climb onto the wolf's back, the chakra appeared. _Ten - no, twenty_. Twenty men were darting towards them clad in their animal masks and sheathed katanas. _Kenzō's men_ , she realized - and they were too late. She felt Hanone's thunderous growls emanate through him, his jaws ready to strike and crush bone. The masked tracker-nin leading the charge darted out first from the shroud of darkness with his blade drawn.

"There she is!" He shouted, his demonic shroud of porcelain sneering. "Take her hostage, kill her wolf if need be - Kenzō-sama commands it!"

Hanone arched his back aggressively, poised to attack. "You worthless human! I'll devour you!"

She saw him in pursuit, the gleam of his blade alarming her. He was closer than she realized. Countering his slash, she grasped his dominant arm that held the blade before it could pierce her, meeting his eyes through his mask in contained feral strength. She was unarmed, clad in her kimono. The only weapon she had was what lay hidden in her blood, boiling furiously as she held his wrist tightly between them. Another tracker-nin came out of the shadows, dancing in the winds above with his blade pointed downward. She sensed their chakra immediately, looking up to meet the snarl of their wolverine shroud.

A daunting flash of white struck them down, throwing them onto the ground with a loud thunderous crack.

Snarls filled the night air, the screams of the masked ninja soon drowning them out. No matter the skill of the man, Hanone's great size proved near impossible to avoid. As large as he was swift, the ancient beast nipped and tore at the man's flesh until all movement and wailing ceased. Catching her opponent's guard down, she countered with a downward kick, prompting him to block as he skid across the sand-ridden surface. Running to her wolf's side, Hanone rose his head towards her, his fur painted red around his lips and mane. The masked man he killed would not be rising any time soon - but others would come.

"More are coming," Nomasaki warned as she pulled herself onto her mount on his back. "Quickly - this way!"

With a deep bark, the beast leapt onto the nearby rooftops of clay and stone, bounding in a blinding white against the shadow. The cooling desert winds slapped her face, striking her bruises with no held mercy. She was going to die that night, fleeing atop the back of her wolf. The Yamamori line would disappear, vanishing without a mournful cry on the frigid winds. Gaara was in danger, she was in danger - all because of her. The chakra bounded behind them, catching up to their path in a matter of minutes. Her instincts flared, her blood growing restless.

Jumping off his back, she shook her skin for the pelt of a wolf and ran alongside her guardian. She appeared so small in comparison - as if a pup to its father. Her form was not even a third of his size but it did not lack the shared ferocity that dwelled within. Her violet eyes narrowed and muzzle snarled, catching wind of the approaching chakra. The pursuer leapt forth from the shadows, katana in hand and mask shining in the faint moonlight. The smaller wolf lunged forward, knocking them away into the bowels of the village below. The sound of their descent echoed throughout the dark, the clattering of their claws against the stone turning silent like the white ghosts they appeared to be.

Twenty soon turned to near forty.

The others grew in numbers as quickly as they vanished from her senses, retreating back into the darkness. Making it towards the village alleys where she lived, the two wolves stopped on a roof of a great stone building, its stucco worn and decaying with age. Silence surrounded them. Puzzled, the smaller wolf stepped forward, feeling the wind in her fur and the scents of their pursuers disappearing upon her black nostrils. Reverting to her human form, she stood on the edge of the towering structure with eyes wide with bewilderment.

"It appears they stopped." Hanone entered, his deepened voice calm but still tinged with his guard. "They did not seem to follow us this far."

"What -?" She turned to him, alert. "How so? We were their targets -,"

Hanone's ears flickered, whipping his head towards the approaching presence. A growl rumbled through his curled muzzle, his stance turning aggressive. "One is tailing us,"

She felt the chakra on the winds, bounded closer to where they took refuge. Taking it in, she prepared herself to become a beast once more. Jolting, she remembered who the chakra belonged to - the memory of their porcelain mask soon striking her in her thoughts. It was the owl-mask, the mask who often accompanied the vulpine adversary that haunted her in her nightmares with the rushing of running water. It was one of Kenzō's men - another tracker-nin.

Appearing before them from the cover of darkness, the owl-faced man stood calmly across from them on the rooftop of the nearby decrepit tower. He did not have a blade drawn nor had any twist to his stance, his chakra still and as silent as his movements. Sensing his intent, her frantic heart slowed as she brought herself to meet his eyes.

"You can lower your guard," He said. "I'm not one of them."

"Your mask says otherwise, you foul bastard!" Hanone snarled. "Nomasaki, let me kill this one! It will be easy... one bite should do it."

Owl-face ignored the threat. "Moro-sama sent me to guard you. He has others who are engaging with those under Kenzō-sama, the ones pursuing you."

"I thought you were one of his?" Nomasaki questioned, wide-eyed in a subtle panic. "You were with Tojiru -?"

"I was, that is... until recently. I defected to join ranks with Moro-sama once again. I'm still alive to tell you this because I defected with the knowledge of Kenzō-sama's doings. I threatened to inform the council and Kazekage-sama if he dared to silence me. Moro-sama saw that I return under his command immediately... and to protect our fellow tracker-nin - you."

Her eyes narrowed. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Do I draw my blade to you? No, as you can see. I've come as an ally - an ally who also wants to see Kenzō-sama gone."

 _An ally._

The feeling of his chakra proved it.

As still as he was silent, he appeared to be truthful in his words. If he wanted her dead, they would have been engaged in combat by now, she realized. Hanone's stance calmed, but his snarls still lingered, only faintly humming through his closed jaws. If what he said was indeed true, she could at least gain sleep until Gaara and his siblings returned. They would not dare kill her if the Kazekage was present - unless they desired a life of exile in the Demon Desert - or death from a fair trial. Coup or not, Kenzō had to tread carefully before snuffing out his subordinates.

"Rest assured, we of the tracking unit look out for another. Kenzō-sama's lackeys will be hesitant to strike in broad daylight, but we will be watching for them."

She pushed herself to step forward, finding solace in his mask. "What is your name?"

"Sohei." He nodded, the owl-like features of his shroud gleaming in the moonlight. Sensing the winds grow quiet, he looked towards the shadows below. "It seems we now have the situation under control. The pursuers are defeated, but we will continue to be on alert." He turned back to meet her guarded expression, his eyes meeting hers at a distance. "He is not one to give up easily, but sure enough he can be brought to justice when our Kazekage arrives."

 _When the Kazekage arrives - when Gaara arrives..._

Her gut twisted in guilt and fear from the realization. There was no way it could be avoided, the evidence was now out in the open for any and all to witness. The masked men pursued her, Hanone ripped one to bloody ribbons, and she sent one to their death herself by knocking them away into the darkness below. She could easily be framed as the aggressor, the treacherous wolf who double-crossed her leader and broke her sworn oaths and trust. Gaara would certainly punish her - or worse.

"...Thank you," She nodded back, forcing herself to swallow her words. Although her expression was calm and eyes stern, her heart grew restless and fearful. "I will remember it. You have my trust."

Nodding, Sohei knelt and formed a hand-sign. "May the desert gods protect you."

And he was gone with the flutter of the rising winds.

Standing still, she stared off into the darkened night. No other chakra surrounded them nor filled her senses, but the faint hum of quaint nightlife danced on the cool air. The fighting gone unnoticed by the common-folk and patrolling chunin in the village streets. Everything seemed as if a blur, the pursuers vanishing as quickly as they initially appeared. Truth haunted her now.

"Would it be wise to trust this one?"

Meeting his beastly yellow eyes as he stepped beside her, she forced herself to appear calm and collected. "We have no other choice," She said, starting towards him. "Hanone, let's go... in case there are more waiting in the shadows."

Mounting herself upon his back, she felt the cool winds strike her throbbing cheekbone. Retreating to her home was her only safe option, her only choice. They would certainly follow her if she fled the desert lands, chasing her to the ends of the earth if they must.

Grumbling as he moved, Hanone turned towards their destination. "If another crosses our path, I won't hesitate to rip them apart!"

She remained silent. She was hoping there would not be another. One enemy was plenty enough to be worried about, let alone another lurking in the darkened shadows. Holding onto his white fur, the wolf descended into the streets below heading towards her alleyway refuge.

* * *

While she wandered into her bedroom inside the confines of her tiny apartment, Nomasaki sat on the edge of her bed beside the open window.

Gazing out into the crescent moon sky, she felt her heart ache within. The ice held against her cheekbone stung, her bruises regaining the feeling of a gnawing burn. As she lightly touched the bruises on her cheeks with her fingers, her gaze became solemn – pondering her decisions as a shinobi. Her defiance to Kenzō's commands when the Kazekage was kidnapped by the Akatsuki placed her into an unfavourable position – although repeatedly convinced herself that she acted with good intentions. When Temari asked her to be their sensory guide, she felt as if her friend had backed her into a philosophical corner – save the Kazekage or let him die. Despite this act of immediate decision, she knew she would always choose the former no matter the cost. Not only was Gaara her respected superior and leader, but he was also someone she valued as a comrade, and at a great capacity – someone she cared about.

She loved him.

She did.

The words struck her mind again.

She loved him, so much so she stated it before her forced master in her moment of defiance and betrayal.

She loved the failed jinchuriki, the once-feared host of Shukaku that sent shivers down her spine at first contact.

Guilt spiralled down her thoughts, fracturing her. Her rebelling against the advisor's wishes and its recent consequences caused a deep rift within her mind. Was duty more valuable than love, or vice versa? In her eyes, she was beginning to change her opinion on the matter the more she thought of her oath as a shinobi. ' _A shinobi must not show their emotions_ ' was the central tenant of the shinobi code – and she knew it was getting harder for her to follow that tenant the more she waited on the Kazekage as his assistant. Her held respect and friendship for the young Kazekage was beginning to blossom as an infatuation – and she had no way of resisting what her heart wanted.

Just as Hanone feared and suspected, she had indeed developed feelings for Gaara – her wise and kind superior.

And there was no end in sight.

Before she went to bed with her troubled thoughts of what the future would hold for her, she knew she had to try her best to hide her bruising from him when he returned from the Land of Iron. No doubt that the truth would escape somehow - whether it be from her, Commander Moro, or Kenzō himself. Her main goal when he returned would be to hide everything possible, donning her best mask for the task at hand.

She had to make sure he never found out about her secret assignment - at all costs...

* * *

Elsewhere within the vast and snowy landscape of the Land of Iron…

As the tumultuous and chaotic Five Kage Summit came to an abrupt close, the Kage urgently began on their separate ways to their respective villages. Dashing and sliding through the snow-covered valleys in great speed, Gaara and his siblings were closely approaching the end of the icy lands – hurrying home to their desert so they can warn their people of the impending war that was on the horizon. In great speed, they swiftly slid past the frosted trees that lined the outer boundaries of the wide expanse of white. With his ringed-eyes fixated on the path ahead, Gaara pondered the upcoming conflict with great concern and thought for the future – it would be no easy task.

"I can't believe we're actually going to war," Kankuro spoke, his brown eyes narrowed towards the falling snow before him. "It feels so surreal."

"It's a given, I'll admit," Temari added, sliding down the mountainside beside her brothers. "But… I didn't think it would be so soon. We have much to prepare for when we return to Suna."

Sensing his younger brother's silence, Kankuro glanced towards him – his eyes narrowed in stern concern. "Do you think the Allied Forces was a good idea, Gaara?"

"It's the only option we have," Gaara answered, his gaze on the path unwavering. "There was no choice on the matter… It will take all five great villages to destroy the Akatsuki before they can summon the ten-tails. It's our only hope."

While the thought of war echoed throughout his thoughts as he bounded down the snowy landscape with his siblings, he had another troubling thought on his mind – his assistant. It was weeks since his abrasive discussion with her companion – the great white wolf that despised all humans – especially in his case for the village he hailed from and his tainted chakra from Shukaku. The wolf's words resonated within him, aware that there was a chance the bond between them was indeed something more. As he thought of his kind and dutiful assistant, he remembered the feeling of unease he had when she would return late from her assignments – could there have been something going on in the tracking unit that he was unaware of?

It was hard for him to make such assumptions.

Regardless, he himself was confused of where he stood towards her. He considered her a valuable assistant to him as the Kazekage, as well as a caring friend who supported him in his endeavors – their bond was something sacred. As he continued down the blanket of white before him, each sight of the falling snow and cold winds against his face reminded him of when she told him about her homeland – Yamagakure of the Land of Mountains. The climates of his homeland and hers were so different yet so alike in the same – the thought often drew his curiosity. Growing worried about the wolf's words and his uncertainty surrounding their bond, as well as the impending war that was rapidly approaching, his gaze upon the path saddened – tinting his turquoise eyes as he looked on at the falling snow and winds.

Noticing his change in expression, Kankuro have him a curious glance – slightly concerned for a moment. "Something on your mind, Gaara?"

Catching his attention, Gaara cleansed his expression free from emotion – looking onward with a stern and stoic gaze. "No," He replied, quietly. "It's nothing."

As the snowfall became treacherous as they continued down the mountain valley, the Suna shinobi hurried on their pursuit to return home – ready to prepare their village for the oncoming war against the forces of the Akatsuki…

* * *

 _ **Notes:**_ The name of the owl-faced tracker-nin, Sohei (僧兵), can be translated to " _warrior monk_ " in Japanese. The _sōhei_ were Buddhist warrior monks from the medieval and feudal eras of Japan, and had once held considerable military power.


	28. A Traitor in the Dark

**Chapter 28  
** **A Traitor in the Dark**

* * *

A week has passed since the Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron…

As they returned through the valley cliffs of Suna, the young Kazekage immediately called for a meeting with the Suna Council – to discuss the results of the summit and the proclamation of impending war. Silently, with clipboard in hand, Nomasaki stood idly behind him in his chair in the council's chambers – observing him discuss the summit with his siblings and councilmen as ANBU guarded the perimeters of the chambers. The shadows of the previous Kazekage hung over the table as the afternoon light of the sun gleamed through the windows, their intimidating glances of stone swallowing the conference in cold silence. Shocked, the council stammered at the mention of war, the ten-tails, and the Infinite Tsukuyomi – the Akatsuki's end goal for world domination. A genjutsu of true horror and might which can grasp the fate of humanity in its clutches was something very difficult to believe but speculated could cost the great villages dearly.

"It can't be helped," A councilmen grit his teeth, frustratedly. "The Akatsuki have grown too much of a threat to be further ignored. Swift action must be taken by all five great nations."

"I agree. Suna must step forth a battle strategy to support the proposed Allied Shinobi Alliance." Another added. "We must establish connections with the villages as soon as we can if we are to defeat Uchiha Madara and his army."

"Raikage-sama was appointed the head of the Alliance, as the Supreme Leader." Temari added, calmly. "Gaara will be the Regimental Commander, as well as the commander of the Fourth Division."

"Kazekage-sama," Baki began, turning to him. "Is this true?"

Nodding once, Gaara glanced to him, his expression stern. "Yes, we've begun drafting battle plans for war… set to take effect within the next few months, at the end of the summer."

"It's soon," Kankuro chimed in, as he sat beside his younger brother. "But any time is good time. This gives us a chance to refine our strategies and attack formations."

Across from them, a councilman scoffed to himself. Kenzō, the elder who frequently offered discourse during the meetings, and a former dissident of Gaara's leadership. He was no more amused as the other councilmen, but also relished in the news within his scheming mind. Silently, Nomasaki stood far behind the Kazekage before the towering statues, her head hung low as she avoided any eye contact with the one who struck her only days before. Although the ANBU guarded the chamber, she still feared for her safety while so close to him. She was bruised along her cheekbone, the indents still fresh in her memory. Surprisingly, no one noticed nor said a single word. As she looked down in her thoughts, her eyes were slightly widened and panic-stricken. Fearful of the idea of war and the massive chakra that would be the ten-tailed beast, its strength unfathomable in her mind.

"You young folk…" He chided. "You've never once knew the pain or suffering from war, yet the war of your generation will determine the fate of the shinobi world."

"It can't be helped," Gaara retorted, making eye contact with the councilor. Sternly, his ringed-eyes narrowed. "This war can't simply be avoided, but if we're victorious we can avoid the wars of the future. In the end, this will be the Fourth Shinobi War, either way we look at it."

As Kenzō turned to examine Gaara's narrowed glare, he noticed his strange-eyed assistant standing far behind him – her fingers trembling lightly as she held her clipboard against the blue fabric of her kimono-like dress. Seeing her in the same room made his blood boil, his folded hands tightening their grasp as he hid his distaste for such a failed subordinate. Giving a snide grin as he noticed her faint blue and purple bruising upon her cheek, he gave her a bitter and mocking glance.

"What's wrong with your assistant? She's trembling like a leaf in the winds! What's the matter, girl? Does the mention of war frighten you?"

Jolting from his words, she turned to the direction of his voice – straightening her back as she stood and masking her fear behind her narrowed eyes. She could feel stares upon her, the entire council going silent from Kenzō's taunt. How dare he, she thought to herself - her grip onto the clipboard becoming tighter.

"Certainly, the life of a shinobi must be accustomed to such a risk. It's shinobi law to not let emotions get into the way of the mission at hand! I would like to hope the training you endured here taught you that... but you _are_ an outsider, after all."

As she stepped closer to the discussion, Gaara glanced at her from the corner of his eye, his hands folded before him on the surface of the worn table. Catching him off guard, he suddenly noticed her bruises that lined the pale skin of her cheekbone. The blues and purples that painted her face horrified him upon meeting them with his widened ringed-eyes. While he stared carefully, he wondered if she gained them from a recent mission. The more he examined them, the more he realized the improbability. Calming his glance, he redirected his thoughts - thinking nothing more of it while his gut churned in hidden disgust.

"My apologies, sir," She nodded, calmly. "But yes, this does frighten me. After seeing my village destroyed, the thought of seeing something similar unnerves me."

Upon seeing Kenzō smirk in response to her even-toned answer, she gave a slight wolfish grin on her lips as she could feel something within her nearby senses – a retort. While she stood close by the Kazekage's seat at the table within the chamber, she relaxed her grip onto the clipboard as she let go of her held fear - the wolf in her rising in her blood behind her calm demeanor.

"I can sense you're trembling as well, isn't that right? Hiding your hand onto your lap won't do you any good, if… you also call yourself a shinobi."

Suddenly, her words jarred him – his fluttering hand tightening in grip to his knee as he was found out. "Why you…!" He growled, as the other councillors took notice at his hypocrisy.

Amused, Temari and Kankuro gave a smirk to themselves in approval while they watched from their seats, while Gaara acknowledged in silence. Angrily, Kenzō rose up from his chair, his fists striking the table before him with unrelenting rage - startling the other councilmen beside him.

"You filthy outsider…-!"

"My assistant is a jonin, Kenzō-sama,"

Turning to him, Gaara gave him a narrowed glare of authority from the cover of his folded fingers in front of him – in a near threatening nature. "Aside from sharpened sensory skills, she also has a sharp tongue when provoked." He said. "This is also a council meeting regarding an important matter, not an opportunity to start arguing over mundane differences."

As the disgruntled councillor took his seat like an impudent young child, Nomasaki gave a slight glance towards him as she felt her heart thump while her fear returned. She could sense his aggressive chakra rise within the room, and the eyes watching her from beyond the shadows - his men who answered only to his call. Although Moro promised not to worry - she was worrying. She was walking on thin ice, and she was getting closer and closer to falling through. Unaware of her trembling hand, Gaara turned towards his assistant who stood close by – her expression concealed in calm while her eyes evoked fear for the unknown.

"In the meantime… Nomasaki, I'll need you to send notices of war to all Chunin and above Suna shinobi. We need to start preparing for war as soon as possible. The coming months will be crucial to our preparation if we truly want to stop the Akatsuki."

Glancing to him as he sat composed in his blue and white robes nearby, she gave him a serious nod – her eyes conveying her unease with the future.

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

Later that night within the holds of the Kazekage's estate…

After the long and grueling meeting with the Suna Council, Gaara walked alongside his older brother within the winding corridor in the mansion. Halfway towards their residence, he paused in his steps as his mind examined his rabid thoughts of conspiracy and war – the connection that he speculated about for weeks. Bothering him incessantly were the words Temari spoke to him of his assistant's loyalty. The more he thought of the possibility, the more disturbed he grew. Remembering the words spoken of the connection between Kenzō and Nomasaki, he wondered if the bruises he saw upon her swollen cheek were something more. His mind came to a painstaking conclusion - and he knew he was right to feel that way.

"What is it, Gaara? Something wrong?"

Turning to his brother before him, he gave an emotionless gaze. "Kankuro, I'll be joining you and Temari shortly. There's… something I need to check out first."

Puzzled, Kankuro nodded. "What would that be?"

"We encountered an assassin en route to Ishigakure," Gaara revealed, stepping closer in confidence to his sibling. "They were after Nomasaki and her Kekkei Genkai… and myself." Narrowing his eyes as he thought of the assassin they battled, he allowed the suspicion to take hold. "I have suspicions in the council… being that they strictly assigned that mission to both myself and my assistant. Particularly _that_ elder with ties to the resistance."

Frustrated, Kankuro's dark eyes formed into a glare as his suspicions were also confirmed. "It's Kenzō, isn't it? And to think we thought we rid the council of dissidents…" He said, quietly, as his teeth gnashed in anger. "Damnit! Right before war, too…!"

"Don't tell anyone. Not even Temari…" Gaara spoke, sternly. "This is between the Kazekage and the higher-ups. I will inform you of this once the matter is settled."

"Understood." Kankuro nodded, starting towards their chambers. "I'll leave you to it, then." Nodding in acknowledgement, Gaara turned back – making his way towards the council's gathering place once more to confront the traitor.

* * *

Once he walked inside the unguarded meeting chambers that night, there was a lone councilman rifling through the bookshelf – Kenzō, the disgruntled councillor from earlier. The man responsible for the bruises upon his assistant's face. Hearing the wooden doors close with a loud thud behind him, the councillor whipped his head toward the doorway in urgency – paranoid of who was walking in. The room was large and dimly lit, although eyes were silently watching behind their masks within the shadows. In the shadows, the towering statues of the past Kazekage stood in silence as Gaara approached.

"Oh? Kazekage-sama," He smiled, feigning. "It's rather late to be requesting a meeting, isn't it? As you can see, I'm quite occupied with my own affairs, so it would be best that you -,"

As he paused before him, Gaara's glare locked onto him, his ringed tanuki-like eyes boring into him as if relentless. "Why did you try to kill myself and my assistant?"

Jarring him, he flinched at the accusation. "Kazekage-sama," His eyes narrowed. "Why, that's absurd! Certainly, you can't be serious? I'm a senior-ranking elder that sits on your council. I have done so for nearly twenty years. I served your father -,"

"It wasn't the council – it was _you_. You assigned both of us that mission, knowing full well my abilities haven't fully returned." Gaara continued, narrowing his eyes at him. "There had to be a motive. I'm the Fifth Kazekage and your superior… you can't fool me like the others."

As his glare became piercing, Kenzō knew he was stuck – he was backed into a corner like a rat in a cage. Standing before the young Kazekage, he could feel the mere density of his chakra within the still air between them. Remaining calm and collected, he folded his hands behind his back as he stepped closer. Pacing around the glares he received from the former jinchuriki, a smug grin grew upon his snake-like lips.

"You'd be a fool to approach me like this," He mused. "You may be the Kazekage… but you certainly lack the wisdom of your predecessors." Pausing, he locked eyes directly with him – asserting his authority from the mere contact of his darkened eyes. "I have eyes surrounding this room. Tracker-nin, such finely tuned spies – if I don't say so myself. I acquired them from that stubborn brawn of a commander as a gift from your father for my… services. They take no orders from anyone other than myself… not even the Kazekage or the tracking unit can command them. They obey me and me alone."

Glancing up towards the darkened abyss that lurked above, the faint gleaming of a sea of porcelain masks appeared. Following Kenzō's gaze, Gaara narrowed his eyes while he found his fists tightening at his sides in preparation to defend himself in the bowels of the darkness that awaited to strike. There had to be at least twenty masked tracker-nin – all of them answering to the dissident and awaiting his orders. Even though he was their Kazekage, he could tell from the menacing stares of their painted shrouds that he was their enemy.

"Your assistant… she certainly has spirit, I'd give her that. It's a shame I no longer have any use for her." Kenzō sighed, instantly grasping his attention. "Her abilities were useful for a time… but every tool eventually grows dull and breaks."

Raising his arm towards the abyss above, the tracker-nin and their masks vanished into the dark above. In an instant, they appeared surrounding Gaara within the chamber. Their weapons gleamed in the scattered light of the room while their concealed faces lay hidden as they eyed their target. His expression unchanging from his glare, Gaara stood silently as Kenzō gave a grin in response.

"I'll show you what it means to stand against me. I'm taking matters into my own hands… now that your _pet_ failed to carry out what I intend to do!"

All at once, the masked tracker-nin lunged for attack, their gleaming silver katanas swinging towards the stern-faced Kazekage. As swift as the winds, his sand swirled around him in great density, knocking away those who bravely approached. From his blind-spot, the ones from above were suspended by his sand within his grasp, while others were thrown against the walls and the cracked floor below. Blood soon dotted the carpet they stood upon, but none of it from the young man who was to be their target. Despite the masked men being his enemies, not a single adversary was killed – their muffled groans and winces of defeat uttered from their panting breaths.

With the remainder of Kenzō's men subdued, Gaara directed his attention towards the dissident. From the corner of his eye, he was approaching with one of the many blades that littered upon the floor – straight for his back. Sensing his strike, Gaara directed his sands towards Kenzō's dominant arm – clinging to the hand that held the katana's hilt. Struggling to move, Kenzō gnashed his teeth as his palm quivered the blade within the sands. Every moment that passed, the sand's strength grew – unrelenting.

"You struck my assistant…" Gaara spat through his grit teeth, his glare boring into him. "I intend to return the favor!"

Suddenly, the stream of sand crushed the councilman's wrist with an immense force as Gaara closed his palm. With a thud, Kenzō's bloodied hand fell to the floor, the clanging of the blade's metal ringing through the air with his wails of pain. Falling to his knees, he grasped the crimson stump of his hand, his whole body shaking as his eyes were wide with anguish and rage. Sensing Gaara's glance still upon him, he quickly glared towards him – waiting for the next strike. Surprisingly, the sand around the Kazekage retreated as he stepped forward.

"You're hereby relived of your duties as councilman and a shinobi of Suna," Gaara spoke, his voice and expression stern. Turning his attention towards the unconscious and injured tracker-nin, he narrowed his glance. "…as well as the others who conspired with you. You will be spending the remainder of your days in prison for your acts of treason against Sunagakure."

Grasping his wound with his blood-soaked hand, Kenzō gave a snide chuckle to himself – provoking Gaara's curiosity and further suspicion. "You ignorant bastard…! Had you not even noticed what's been taking place since your inauguration?"

"What are you talking about?" Gaara questioned, his eyes narrowing at him. "You were plotting against me. You didn't trust in my leadership due to my being a jinchuriki. You wanted Shukaku and myself gone… no matter the cost. You're just a conspirator, nothing more."

"You were blinded by your friendship to that wretched wolf…!" Glaring up at him with an undefeated smirk, Kenzō sneered at the young Kazekage in a dark nature – knowing he had nothing further to lose. "She's been spying on you for me since her appointment as your assistant… relaying to us your activities and Shukaku's status."

Caught off guard, Gaara's ringed-eyes widened in shock – completely blindsided by his words. His worst suspicions were finally realized. He felt his gut twist with hurt as the words rang through his mind. She was a spy - his assistant, his friend. Temari was right.

"Although an outsider, she obviously wasn't found out by you… I can see it, judging by your shocked expression. I even asked her to kill you… but it appears she couldn't stomach it. Such a failure, she is…"

"That's a lie. She would never-!"

"Filthy wolf…" Kenzō laughed on his breath. "The way you cling to her trust is pathetic, at best!"

Glaring at the one-handed councillor in silence, Gaara took in his words once more. Mulling over the accusations and thinking of his assistant – her kind nature, her helpful aide she provided him in his position, and her willing friendship. The words of the great wolf entered his mind, making him wonder if everything that occurred between them was a malevolent lie – was she truly an agent of the resistance? The thought disturbed him greatly the more he thought of it.

"Kazekage-sama!"

Within an instant, two Suna ANBU shinobi appeared before him with their white-clothed faces masking their identities. "Arrest this man, as well as his subordinates." Gaara commanded, glancing towards them – gesturing towards the fallen masked shinobi. "They've committed high-treason against the village. Prepare an envoy to the prison for dawn once they've received medical treatment."

"Sir!" They acknowledged.

As he struggled and continued to bleed over his robes, Kenzō was taken away by one of the ANBU. Looking down at the severed hand on the floor, Gaara turned back to the remaining ANBU ninja who awaited additional commands.

"Keep this event secret, I don't want the rest of the council being aware of this. Or my assistant, for that matter."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama."

* * *

Early that next morning, Gaara sat emotionless and quiet at his desk with his hands folded before him as he glanced towards the morning sun through the window. Gingerly, Nomasaki placed the tray of green tea and saltines beside his stack of unfinished papers, making sure everything was in its proper place.

"There," She spoke, fixing its position. "It's very hot, so I would wait a few minutes."

Realizing the presence of her soothing voice, he turned to her. "Thank you."

Smiling with a nod, she stepped aside, positioning her clipboard towards her as she took out her pen – notarizing the day's schedule and making note of the important documents he had to have finished by the end of the day. "Today is the last day to send in the final assessment reports for the rookie chunin," She spoke, writing notes in her papers. "Make sure you can have those finished, and I can relay them to the Academy by the end of the day." Giving a light smile to herself, she wrote the last stroke of her pen. "I'm sure you'll remember, but given that the war is approaching, you'll have a lot on your plate with out-of-village meetings and so on."

Keeping silent, Gaara continued on his gaze out the window beside him – his eyes narrowing as he thought over of how to bring up the topic of discussion. He wanted to approach it as carefully as he could but given the situation it would prove to be difficult. Standing up, he turned to face her – his expression appearing stern and slightly uncomfortable. As he could see the faint colour of her bruised cheek, his thoughts pondered at the reasoning with hidden guilt and suspicion. The coloring of her bruises haunted him, the imprints of the strikes she endured visible from the morning light. It was no coincidence - he thought to himself. Remaining silent, he averted his glance momentarily, trying to find the right words.

"What is it, Gaara-sama?" She asked, curiously.

As he stepped closer to her, he paused once they were inches apart. Sensing something was amiss, she could feel a chill in her spine from his chakra and gaze as they made eye contact with each other. It was not his usual gaze, it was narrowed, hurt, and guilt-ridden. Something was amiss, and she had a sinking feeling of what it was.

"As my assistant, can I ask something of you?"

"Anything."

Averting his gaze at first, he glanced back towards her – gazing deep into her curious wide eyes of lilac while he desperately tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. "I need to know… were you acting as a spy for Kenzō-sama and the Suna Council?"

Shocked by his questioning, she froze before him, her body stone-cold as she looked into his eyes of pain and sadness. She was caught, albeit too late. Silent, she averted her gaze as the guilt swelled up in her veins, making its way into her throat as she struggled to face him as she sensed the word he was searching for – traitor.

"Kenzō-sama was arrested last night. He confessed and included you in his testimony."

Looking up to him at last, her guilt-ridden eyes glistened with her hidden sorrow and hurt. Averting her glance to the carpeted floor, she closed her eyes halfway in sadness as she searched for the right words. She felt broken. Standing before the Kazekage, it was the first time she ever felt fear for him and his strength. There was no escape. Her worst fears realized, she was found out by the one person she wished would never know - Gaara's gaze revealed that to her.

"Yes..." She confessed. "I… had to. The council... Kenzō demanded I do it, and said I owed the village a debt since I was an outsider. You were a jinchuriki... and he said you were a threat to the village. I took it upon myself to monitor you and ensure his men didn't attack you. I didn't want them to hurt you, or worse…-," Meeting his turquoise eyes, she gave him a pleading gaze. "I… didn't want to face exile, either. Kenzō... he promised to kill me if I didn't comply... I was... trapped." Looking down at her feet, she held the clipboard close to her chest. "I was being selfish… I betrayed your trust, as your assistant… and as your friend… I was given permission to stop after our mission to Ishi, after telling Moro-sama, but still... it was too late... I was…-,"

"...You were doing your duty as a shinobi of Suna."

Surprised by his words, she looked up to him. Meeting his saddened glance, she could feel the pain exerted by his ringed-eyes as she stood before him. Silence surrounded the two as words failed to form in time from another. Her eyes in saddened pleading, she stood in astonishment at his words. Looking down at the floor, his ringed-eyes closed halfway – holding onto faith as he thought of what transpired.

"What are you saying?" She stammered, her quiet voice broken from shock. "Are you... forgiving me?"

Closing his eyes with a heavy heart, he gave a subtle nod from his messy head of crimson. She could not believe her eyes from witnessing his difficult response. She was a traitor - a traitor, a traitor, a traitor. She spied on the Kazekage - was told to kill him by her superior, defied her assignment and ventured to the Land of Rivers to retrieve the Kazekage against her commands that were given, and killed Kenzō's beloved right-hand - Tojiru. To make matters worse, she suspected the assassin from Ishi was hired by Kenzō to kill them both. If anyone was deserving of forgiveness or an apology, it was Gaara for putting up with it all - not her, she thought.

"That's all I would want from you, as the Kazekage." He said, quietly, gazing to her. "I'm proud that you have a strong sense of duty. That's part of the reason why I chose you as my assistant. The other reason was because I trusted you…" Looking up, he locked eyes with her, a protective glint to his seafoam eyes, replacing his hidden sorrow. "You once called me your friend, so I... trusted you… and I still do to this day."

"I kept this a secret from you for so long… I can't tell you how guilty I've felt from this." She confessed, closing her eyes as she held her head down, clutching the clipboard tighter. "I should be arrested… or at least fired for what I've done."

Gaara shook his head in response, forgiving her completely. "There's no need to cling to it anymore. I forgive you, Nomasaki." He assured, his expression calm. "You can stay as my assistant as long as you feel comfortable. I hold trust in you, and I always will."

Surprised from his words, she bowed her head to him in acceptance. "Thank you, Gaara-sama." As she straightened her posture, she gave a light friendly smile to him. "Oh, I mean… Gaara." Softly, a small smile formed on his lips, relieved his assistant had remained a loyal friend and companion. "With the war approaching, we should really get to work, then."

With a nod, he closed his eyes. "Very well," He replied. "I'll finish those papers, while we have time."

Smiling back at him, she nodded in return – as they continued to work together as Kazekage and assistant…


	29. The Man Called Father

**Chapter 29  
** **The Man Called Father**

* * *

As the end of the summer approached, the five great hidden villages began mobilizing for war.

The Fourth Shinobi War had arrived at full force with no time left to prepare. Within the vast holds of the southern desert that plagued the Land of Lightning as dawn broke, the Fourth Division laid in wait for commands to pursue with their battle strategy against the enemy – standing idly behind the path of Gaara and Ōnoki, the elderly Third Tsuchikage. Since she was informally forgiven for her crimes, Nomasaki had scarcely seen the Kazekage other than the times where they had to work alongside another before the time for war. Although his attitude towards her remained unchanged, she could still sense a fracture within their shaken relationship. The dulled tone to his eyes signified that - unless it was his insomnia that painstakingly returned with a vengeance. War was approaching - there was simply no time left for pondering possibilities.

She reminded herself that again and again - but to no avail.

While she stood in the crowd watching him give his speech, she felt the warmth of his words and caught herself hanging onto hope for the future once more. From the ostracized jinchuriki she met that moonlit night three years ago, she saw the dignified and courageous leader whom the village now adored with their praises. His growth made her proud to be his friend - and made her realize how far she was willing to go to protect the person she cared for most. With her lilac eyes gleaming from the blinding sun as she stood amongst the crowd of onlookers, her trembling heart of fear calmed for a brief moment. Just as he wanted to protect the future, she wanted nothing more than to protect him - to repay the debt she owed for all she had done. Watching him disappear from above the crowd with the other commanders, she could still feel his strong chakra lingering upon the winds. In her senses, he felt so close yet so far all at once. Worry creeping into her mind, she plead silently for him to stay safe.

Hopefully - when the war is over - she could tell him everything, she thought to herself.

* * *

Following the front of the Fourth Division, Nomasaki accompanied Temari's lead with her heart heavy with duty. She noticed a sudden quiet between them since that day she was questioned in the corridors, Temari's narrowed green eyes piercing her in her memory. Fortunately, the familiar air of comradeship returned in recent weeks - with the two preparing for war together as they did while undergoing their jonin training only years before. If she knew what occurred with Kenzō, all was settled - nothing more. Behind a large stone pillar that broke out from the earth, Temari opened up the scroll with their plans onto a wide boulder as the nearby shinobi circled around it. Close by, Nomasaki stood as she scanned the plans with narrowed eyes, taking in the diagrams and measuring distances in her mind.

"As you can see with our plans, our task is to support Kazekage-sama as the pillar that breaks through our enemy's defenses." Temari spoke, pointing to their current location on the scroll. "The wind-release faction will take the front as the first break, followed by the regular troops to plow through to our targets." Looking up towards the shinobi who encircled the map, she gave them a serious glance. "The sensory faction of the division will guide us to the enemy's location. Nomasaki, you will be guiding the front of the formation since you have the widest range of chakra detection."

Turning to her, Nomasaki gave a brief nod. "Right."

"The other sensor-types will be scattered throughout the perimeters of the formation to detect enemy attacks," Temari continued. "Gaara is our commander, so we should do our part as fine-tuned as possible. I will act as a captain amongst Gaara-sama and Nara Shikamaru, who is our proxy for the second half of the division-,"

"Temari-sama!"

To their right, a shinobi with an Allied Forces headband appeared before them during their tactical meeting – an alarmed expression on his exhausted features. "What is it?" Temari questioned, her emerald eyes narrowed in seriousness. "Is it news from Kankuro and the Surprise Attack Division?"

"Yes," The man nodded. Looking down with wide eyes, he gulped in contained fear for what lay ahead. "The enemy… they're resurrecting fallen shinobi to do battle! Our source believes it is the Edō Tensei Jutsu developed by Orochimaru of the Sannin."

Jarring the listeners and Temari, she stood in shocked silence from the ninja's intel. Edō Tensei was a jutsu rarely ever spoke of or performed, as it was a highly forbidden technique. The only known users of it were its developer – the Second Hokage – and the deranged missing-nin Orochimaru – both of whom were dead. How was it possible?

"Edō Tensei?!" Temari barked, gnashing her teeth in shocked frustration. "Are you certain?"

Nodding the ninja looked up to her. "The report doesn't lie," He replied, sternly. "The enemy summoned shinobi from all over the five nations… including some of our own from Suna."

Averting her glance, she grit her teeth as she wracked her mind for an adequate response. "This isn't good… They could ruin our battle strategy… those bastards…!"

"What should we do, Temari-sama?"

Catching her attention, she covered all traces of frustration with a calm and stern expression of a natural-born leader. "There's a slight change to my commands," Stepping towards her, she approached Nomasaki – who stood silent with the others. "Nomasaki, I'm sending you to scout for shinobi resurrected with Edō Tensei. I will send a sealing squadron behind you in case of attack from the enemy. Sealing them will be our best option." Narrowing her eyes, the two kunoichi made eye contact. "Afterwards, you can regroup with the rest of the division. We will need you for when the real battle begins."

Sternly, Nomasaki nodded, acknowledging her given orders. "Of course," She said, calmly.

As she began to peer into her senses, she could begin to sense the entirety of the Allied Forces surrounding her. She could feel the strong warm mass of chakra of the division she resided in, feeling the fibers of every single shinobi – including Gaara who was miles away in the distance. Suddenly, she could begin to sense the presence of her enemies – a strange feeling coming over her as she stood sheltered with her comrades. Intimidatingly, she could feel is grasp her in its horror, chilling her spine as she could sense both the living and the dead.

"I can sense a faint growing presence to the far west of here, but it feels… hollow. There's chakra, but… it feels ominous."

Stepping aside from the division into the rays of the early morning sun, she bit her thumb and placed her palms together while she paused onto the cold sands at her feet. She had no choice. Her eyes narrowed with focus, she formed the hand-signs she learned as a child.

I. Inu. Tori. Saru. Hitsuji.

Her chakra ready for release, she pressed her bloodied palm onto the sands below, her crimson painted palm slamming into the earth below as a burst of energy was called forth.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

From the cloud of smoke, a snarling beast of white fur suddenly appeared – its claws digging into the sand below as its growl ripped through the lifeless air. The wolf's size startled some of the onlookers, his massive size burgeoning with his strong limbs and thick coat of white. Realizing he was summoned forth from his slumber, he ripped a growl from his closed jaws upon seeing the dead environment he was thrust upon.

"Nomasaki...!?" Hanone snarled, his muzzle barring his glistening fangs in the sunlight. "You know I don't appreciate being summoned on such short notice…!" Directing its barred muzzle to her, it snarled once more. "What's your reasoning for this?"

"We're fighting a war." She spoke in a stern tone, making her way towards him. "I need you to help me locate some enemies, can you help me?"

"Help you?" He scoffed. "I'll be the one doing all of the work!"

Stepping forward, Temari approached as she watched the great creature bend down upon the sands for Nomasaki to mount his back. Grasping his thick fur in her fingers, she lifted herself upon his back, fastening her position behind his mane while she readied her palms into his coarse fur. Noticing the human approach, Hanone gave a silent snarl in her direction - sensing the similarities between her chakra and the former jinchuriki he despised.

"Don't take too long." Turning towards the voice as she sat prepared on the wolf's back, Nomasaki met the glance of Temari. Standing before them, a stern yet confident smirk was present on her lips. "We'll catch up soon."

With a nod, Nomasaki gave a light smile – trusting that they will again meet on the battlefield soon. "I'll try my best." Looking towards the direction of the chakra, she narrowed her lilac eyes as the strong sunlight struck her. "Let's go, Hanone!"

"Right!"

Digging his paws into the dried earth below, Hanone leapt into the desert at a vicious speed – anticipating the feeling on having a human's head in his massive jaws. Strangely, as they departed into the winds, she felt a frigid air pass through her. She loved the feeling of sitting upon her wolf, feeling the wind in her thick gold hair, the exhilaration she felt in her heart as his paws bounded through the sands below. Just as when she was a child, there was nothing more she loved than feeling safe with her summon - Hanone, her mother's final gift - the last surviving summon of her long forgotten clan. She never before had felt so free - so alive. Memories of the snowy lands entered her mind briefly as the coldness of the winds struck her, reminding her of his protection while they lived upon the secluded mountain. Startling her thoughts deep inside, the sudden thought of the last time she would experience such a feeling rang through her, chilling her senses from the intrusion. She knew the day would come - but she did not know when. Ignoring her gut feeling to the best of her ability, she proceeded upon her wolf with narrowed eyes - prepared to follow through with her mission.

She wondered if summoning him was a mistake - but nonetheless they continued.

* * *

Dashing through the wasteland riddled with protruding stone formations, Hanone and Nomasaki could feel the enemy close by – faintly haunting their senses as they rapidly reached the silent foggy coastline. "Hanone!" She shouted, as they became shrouded in a thick fog. "Can you sense them?"

Flaring his nostrils while he darted through the barren landscape, a growl escaped his jaws. "Yes," He growled. "A few close by… The enemy is farther ahead!"

Sensing an approaching threat that somehow felt familiar to her, she leapt from the back of her wolf – running alongside him as she looked ahead with narrowed eyes that held determination to complete her task. Suddenly, she sensed the chakra appear closer.

"Hanone! I leave the ones ahead to you!"

"Right!" Violently, he burst through the mist-filled landscape – disappearing from her peripheral vision as she continued on towards the water.

In an instant, the chakra was right behind her without any warning. Her senses heightened, she swung her katana from its sheath on her back as she whipped her body to face her adversary. As he sound of clashing blades filled the air, she saw the face of her foe – a man with an Allied Forces headband, his fading orange-tinged hair swaying in the winds against them while his empty hazel eyes locked onto her - gazing into her in a defeated tone. He appeared to be middle-aged and had a short beard upon his chin that was nearly white in color. Although he appeared to be in his forties, his eyes appeared as if they aged before he did. His dull eyes seemed fractured - broken. Realizing it was his chakra that felt strangely familiar, the grip on her blade softened.

"How…-?"

As they both withdrew their blades before one another and concealed them in their sheaths, she stood in silent marvel at his fast movements and sword-wielding skills from earlier. Who were they? As she looked upon his appearance, she noticed his flak jacket was strikingly similar to hers – a Suna ninja. Unsettling to her, his chakra felt as if it were cut from here, or vice versa. She could not put her finger on how uneasy she felt standing before such a man. He did not appear threatening to her in the least, but the glint from his hazel eyes examined her perplexed glare thoroughly.

"Entering the battlefield alone is dangerous," The man spoke to her, looking her up and down with a stern yet concerned expression on his aging features. "Are you hurt?"

Nomasaki shook her head to his question, her eyes locked onto him in a suspicious glance while her memory failed to serve her the answer she sought to her confusion. "No, not at all. But… thank you."

Jarring in his stance, the man suddenly stared at her wide-eyed. "It… It can't be!" He stammered. "Mi… Mikomi?"

She stood silent from the mention of her mother's name. No, she thought - impossible. How was he able to know of such a person? Her mother never left the mountains - she lived there her whole life and died before her time, never once venturing to see what the rest of the world offered out of fear she would be hunted down and killed like the others. Then, she froze where she stood. From the pained surprise upon his face, she suddenly grappled with the realization of who that man really was. It all made sense to her. His chakra, his movements, and his allegiance – it all pointed to one strong possibility. Hanone's words rang true within her mind, the rage beginning to seethe through the cracks of her shocked expression. Within an instant, her expression promptly saddened as she remembered the man's stammering question. Looking down, she shook her head – averting her glance from his defeated and saddened eyes.

"No, I'm… her daughter. Nomasaki."

As he stood before her, his eyes greatly widened from her voice and the words it formed – speechless at her response. Averting his gaze, he closed his eyes as he could feel tears beginning to form – holding in his sorrow with all he had left. Covering his eyes with his palm out of shame, his head of frazzled and greying orange hung low as he stood shaking in the sands.

"After all this time…!" He quietly said to himself, relieved. "You're alive... Thank heavens...!"

Perplexed by his emotions, her eyes narrowed at him. Her thoughts getting the better of her as she desperately wished for it all to be a bad dream, she pressed him to reveal to her the truth. She wanted it to be fiction. The facts could come later - her calm composure was depending on it being fiction. Knowing how enraged she became at the mere thought of resembling him, she tightened her fists at her sides as she met his silent weeping. The shapes of their faces appeared similar to another, carved from the same genes that resided within the lands of endless desert. She pushed the observation to the back of her mind, betting on it being a misunderstanding.

"Who are you? How do you know of my mother and myself?"

Wiping his eyes with his black sleeve, he gathered his composure and faced her with a calm and empty expression of silent pleading. After several years of absence, he finally appeared to her - alive and well.

"I am Kyo, of Sunagakure." He said. "I'm your father, Nomasaki."

Her father.

It was true.

Her eyes greatly widened from his words – her fingers trembling at her sides. After going her whole life without knowing her father, he was finally standing right before her eyes. The man who abandoned her and her mother - the father she never had. The ninja of the desert lands that Hanone despised to his very core – the one her wolf told her the truth about in warning. He was the man who believed her and her mother were monsters. As she stood before him, she could feel the disgust and rage begin to seethe its way into her emotions once more only more volatile. Averting his gaze, she looked down, her fists clenched at her sides.

" _Father_ , if that's what you want me to call you…-,"

As she anguished in her contempt, her fanged teeth grew rapidly inside her jaws. Raising her head, her gold hair whipped in the winds against her headband as her humanoid muzzle curled into a fanged growl, her narrowed violet eyes glistening with tears from her surfacing anger. She could feel her grasp of control release itself. Shinobi must not reveal their true emotions - but at this time, she did not feel like a shinobi. She was a monster.

"Why…? Why…?! Why did you abandon us?! Why would you abandon your own wife and child?!"

As the tears streamed down her face, she held her head down in shame as she attempted to control herself – but it was useless. One by one, her tears dropped to the ground beneath her as her father looked on in sorrow-filled guilt. Overcome with rage, her body shook as she could feel her blood boil beneath her exterior of cracked humanity.

"Mom spent the last years of her life in sickness… waiting for you! All because you thought we were monsters! How dare you approach me now without guilt! It's your fault she's dead! Part of the reason why I… became a shinobi was so I could understand you in some way…" She spoke, her voice quiet and husky. "…but what you have done to us…-!"

Slowly, she reared her head up towards him, glaring at him as she could feel her skin begin to faintly burn upon her face. As her eyes met his guilt-ridden glance, her muzzle shifted and changed into that of a beast. Monstrously, before his very eyes, her once-human face had the same likeness as that of a wolf - feral and vicious in its tearstained and snarling state. A true monster. Startled by her sudden change in appearance, he could see the hatred within her narrowed violet eyes that were still wet with tears.

"…cannot be forgiven!"

Suddenly, she withdrew her blade from its sheath and leapt to attack him as he stood silent in the sand. As he seen her blade approaching him from the gleam of the sun, his gaze adverted hers in a somber nature – accepting his ill-awaited fate. He deserved it, he thought. With a snarl-like wail, she swung her katana.

The sound of impact filled the still air.

Quivering in her grasp, her blade was inches from striking him, clinging to the sands at his feet. Frustrated, her clenched fanged teeth concealed the oncoming sobs that rose up into her chest. Its hilt shaking in her grasp, she slowly pulled the blade from its impact upon the ground. Her emotions claimed her at last. Stepping back into the cold sands, she gave in to her sadness and her rage in surrender - her wolfishness receding as she came to a trembling pause.

"I can't do it!" She sobbed aloud, tossing her blade to the ground. "I don't have it in me to kill someone so pathetic!"

Trembling, her body and mind were overcome with despair and anger, her fingers grasping onto the top of her golden hair. She felt as if she were going mad. Never before had she felt such distress. She wanted to take revenge for her mother and herself. He was an enemy, Hanone said so, she remembered. She wondered if it were true - why else would she feel provoked enough to strike him? But yet, not an ounce of her felt as if it were possible.

"I can't! Despite all this resentment I have towards you… I just can't!"

"I'm sorry, Nomasaki." Kyo spoke sincerely, his gaze pained and tainted with guilt. "But no matter how many times I say it, it can't bring your mother back… Can it?" Wiping her tears with her sleeve, she reflected upon his words – remaining silent as her eyes closed halfway in sorrow. "I never thought once, not even for a second, that you and your mother were monsters… That's not why I left Yamagakure."

Her eyes widened from his revelation in pure shock, gaining her immediate attention. "What are you saying…?" She asked, her quiet voice broken from her sobs. "Hanone told me you left because of our Kekkei Genkai… So what are you…-?"

"That's not true in the slightest,"

Surprised, she looked up to him – eyes wide in astonishment. "What... do you mean?"

"The truth is…" He began, sharing a gaze with his daughter. "…Not long after you were born, the Third Shinobi War ended. It was because of that war, I was stationed in Yama to protect the Land of Mountains from an Iwa invasion, being that Yama lies between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. With the insistence of the daimyo, Sunagakure wanted to prevent them from crossing the border, so I was stationed there with other Suna troops to guard the northern border." Looking down, his hazel eyes closed halfway as he remembered his strife. "But… once the conflict was over, we were ordered to return back to Sunagakure by the Fourth Kazekage. Our village was experiencing cuts, and tensions with other neighboring villages were rising…"

His hazel eyes saddened as he remembered the loving smile of his late wife and the rosy-cheeked newborn who was swaddled in a blanket in her mother's arms – his family that he loved unconditionally. His heart was broken for what time had done unto him – his wife and child ripped from his arms faster than he could begin to process. It was a distant memory that burned through his mind every day he woke.

"I stayed in Yamagakure for as long as I could, that is… until they found out I didn't return. They threatened to classify me as a missing-nin… I didn't want to put you or your mother in danger, so I… left."

Speechless, she stood appalled by his truth. "No way…" She uttered, her eyes wide in glistening sadness and relief. "How could… Hanone lie to me…?" Looking down, she gathered her thoughts. "So you loved us all along…You really wanted to protect us…"

Trying to mask his grief, he smiled with a chuckle. "When I realized it was you that was the Kazekage's assistant, I thought over how I would approach you thousands of times over. But… I knew it would be harder than any mission I was assigned, because I was a father that abandoned his only child in order to protect them. I wanted to face you and tell you everything, but… it's much harder to do than think about."

Watching her wipe away the last of her tears, he gazed at her with a sympathetic smile. Although she took after him in appearance, she had the soft purple eyes of her mother and her thick hair of golden blonde. It warmed him to see her grown. She was the splitting image of Mikomi - much to his heart's dismay. But most importantly, she was safe - and she was alive.

"By the way, Nomasaki… How old are you now?"

"Seventeen."

"Seventeen, huh?" He smiled. "How about that…"

As he stood before her, his smile faded while the years he lost flashed before his eyes. Picturing her mother when she was alive, healthy, and vibrant, and his daughter who he only knew for as if an instant. Their brief memories haunted him like ghosts in his mind. Although he only lived in the mountains for less than two years, he longed to return to where he heart remained.

"I can't tell you how I wish I could've seen you grow up and stayed with your mother for her final days… I regret not spending that valuable time with you. I'm sorry…"

To his surprise, he felt her wrap her arms around him – hugging him gently as the dry winds blew past them. Her grasp was comforting yet strong all at once. She was a shinobi, after all - and she was a wolf. While the sun's scattered dimming rays danced upon the metal plating of their headbands, tears silently streamed from her tightly shut eyes.

"Father…" She said, quietly. "You are here now…"

Smiling warmly in shared joyous sadness, he held his daughter in return. The last time he held her was when she was an infant. He wanted to weep for the time he lost…

* * *

 _ **Notes:** _Nomasaki's estranged father, Kyo, carries some meaning for his name. In Japanese, Kyo (杏) means "apricot". His hair color is orange, which is the same color as an apricot. Using different kanji, his name could mean "unite" (協), "capital" (京), or "village" (郷).


	30. Battle Between Wolves

**Chapter 30  
** **Battle Between Wolves**

* * *

The winds turned colder.

As they walked beside each other in the fog-ridden desert along the Land of Lightning's coast, their eyes scanned for their foretold enemies – prepared to engage in battle at any moment. Edō Tensei was a terrifying harbinger, a jutsu forbidden for near a century by the man who created it. It was said the Second Hokage regretted formulating the seals, creating a legacy of anguish and torment in the living and the dead. The Sannin Orochimaru was said to have used the jutsu against the Third Hokage during Konoha Crush, binding the souls of the First and Second Hokage to the corpses of his own men. And now there was an unnamed foe pulling the strings from the shadows, summoning the dead to battle the living. The winds picked up as they continued further, with the presence of war and bloodshed echoing in the distance from the father and daughter team who scoured the land for the resurrected adversaries.

"I'm surprised you became a Sand ninja like your old man," Kyo smirked to himself, absorbing the irony of her fate – his eyes locked ahead into the mists. "My daughter… the assistant to the Fifth Kazekage, and a jonin to boot! Why was it that you left Yama? I've heard scattered reports of a disaster."

Her eyes narrowing as they strayed to her side, Nomasaki kept on her path – remembering that night of fire that plagued her memory like a curse. The haunting site of her flaming home forever burned into her nightmares and the feel of the freezing frost of the treacherous mountain path – her blood boiling as she became a beast. As she briefly allowed the memory to flash before her eyes, she recalled the gleam of the armor-clad invaders. A snarling monster was etched on the breastplate before the licking red flames of murder, standing over the frightened girl in the snow. Averting her eyes, she blinked away the scars.

"The entire village was destroyed by mercenaries from Ishigakure four years ago," She replied. "Hanone and I fled, but we're unsure of any other survivors. We were told there were ones scattered across the tundra and other lands, but I've chosen to stay in Suna… where I could have a fresh start."

"I see." Kyo nodded once, closing his eyes in a stoic yet empathetic nature. "It's just as I feared, then. The rumors were true, after all… And Hanone is-?"

Suddenly, her senses picked up a strong familiar presence – in aggression. Slightly alarmed, she whipped her head towards the source, catching a glimpse of the glistening white fangs that shone through the shroud of mist. Before them with a mighty crash against the sands, a growling white flash separated the two. Hanone's towering stance was arched in pure rage. With lips curled and tail raised, the vicious sounds from his snarling muzzle ripped through the humid air.

"Get away from her!" The large wolf growled, his claws breaking the earth apart beneath him with ease – his jaws conveying their desire to attack the man before him. "You bastard! I'll rip you apart right now where you stand! I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do! Kyo…!"

In an instant, a hilt was cracked from its sheath and a wolf prepared to take leap onto its prey. Snarling with wolfishness marked on her expression, Nomasaki appeared before the white beast with arms held out to block his approach, her fangs revealed through her gnashed teeth. Catching her in his sights, Hanone's claws dug into the earth as he stopped himself from striking the orange-haired man behind her who eyed him carefully with his blade.

"Hanone! Stop!" She ordered. "It's alright! He's family!" Solidifying her stance, she shot him a glare as the wolf inched forward. "Don't -! I mean it!"

Begrudgingly, Hanone halted his offensive and his arched back eased. Her expression was unmoving - determined, stern, and near as monstrous as his. She chose which side she stood on, her beastly violet eyes proved it to him. His ears flicked back onto his head of white in submission, reminding himself that he was her summon and guardian. As he licked his snarling muzzle in disgust - dismayed but obedient. Clutching the sheath of his katana, Kyo relaxed his grip from witnessing the feral exchange between the two wolves.

- _Hanone hasn't changed a bit…_ \- He thought to himself, his hand trailing from his katana to his side. - _At least I know Nomasaki was in good hands…_ -

Once everything was calmed, Nomasaki turned to the beast, her eyes pleading and disappointed all at once – containing her bewildered anger and confusion. "Hanone," She began, her voice quiet as she averted her gaze. Meeting the wolf's eyes, the hurt and anger etched its way onto her expression. "Why did you… lie about my father? He told me everything - why he left, why he did so - everything. What you told me that day about my father… it was all a lie."

Looking down at her feet as she could sense the jolt from his paws on the ground below, she remembered the day he told her everything – shortly after she completed the Chunin Exams three years ago, he told her as she proclaimed her desire to be a full-fledged shinobi. The knife twisted in her heart the more she recalled the tale of the man who viewed his wife and child as monsters. The more she thought of it, the more she thought of the sting of betrayal – as if a stiff dagger pierced through her chest with each word. It must have been similar to how Gaara felt about her spying, she thought. Holding in her emotions, she held her head high to face the beast before her – her lilac eyes narrowed in brisk seriousness.

"He never thought of my mother or myself as monsters... Never! He left to protect us!" She felt sorrow creep its way into her throat, her angered and stilled voice choking back her rising anguish. "What did you have to gain from keeping the truth from me? I could've found him years ago! He is my family!"

Glancing down at the stern-faced human before him, Hanone peered down at her with his yellow eyes drawing a blank – examining her state of confrontation with hidden amazement and admiration for a backbone. "Nomasaki," He started through his jaws. "There's certain things about your people you don't yet understand. What I've done… was all for the clan's sake. I lied about your father not just for my distaste in the desert-folk, but to protect you."

"What do you mean?" She barked. "Protect me from what -?! My own father?!"

"The Yamamori are gone… all but you," Hanone continued, stepping closer to her, making her jolt slightly in response. "I lied in the hopes that you would abandon Suna for your homeland… in my selfish sacrifice for the clan's faint future." The beast's eyes seemed near mournful. "Your people have come from a long and proud line... with a kekkei genkai that is near as ancient as the Sage of Six Paths himself. You are forgetting that you are a half-blood - born of your mother Mikomi and this man who stands behind you." A subtle growl escaped his lips as his eyes narrowed towards her, eyeing her stunned and blank expression within his view. "I was worried your days in Sunagakure would provoke you to leave your past behind... and make you turn your back on your destiny. You cannot forget where you've come from or the blood that flows in your veins. You are the last wolf and you belong in the north."

Her eyes glistening, she looked up at the wolf wide-eyed – hurt. "Hanone... How… could you?"

"Your father was a sand bastard... I don't want history to repeat itself - mark my words…"

Kyo stepped closer. "Hanone-sama, please listen to reason -,"

Hearing the crunching of footsteps coming towards him, Hanone arched his back in a threatening stance, snarling wildly towards the approaching man. "Hanone, stop! You have to let this go!" Nomasaki shouted, jumping before him – blocking his path towards her father. Her eyes calm with tearstained sorrow and forgiveness, she gave the beast a pleading glance. "I did, and so should you."

Scoffing in disgust, Hanone stood straight from his aggression, growling to himself in silent anger. "It seems my efforts were for naught…" He remarked to himself, averting his gaze away the girl and her father. "You've become too much like _them..._ "

Perplexed by his choice in words, Nomasaki stood in silence before the beast. "Hanone…" She murmured. Turning towards her father, she took notice of the Allied Forces headband on his forehead. "Are you part of the Fourth Division as well?"

"Yes," He answered with a nod. "I was tasked with scouting for those strange enemies, the ones resurrected through the Edō Tensei."

"I see," She said. "I…-,"

Suddenly, the winds picked up around them, gusts blowing across the barren land before them, throwing dust and dirt into the once mist-filled air - blocking out the sun from their view. Jarring her, an eerie presence trembled through her core – alarming her instincts instantly from its familiarity and fear.

"What's going on?" She questioned, shocked. "I feel… a chakra that was once… dead."

As she turned towards the dune in her vision's reach, her eyes widened. In the distance before her, she saw a white wolf watching her with stern-like lilac eyes. She began to shiver from the sight, hoping that deep down it was a mirage, but something was telling her it was indeed real.

"I don't know if you feel the same way, Nomasaki," He started, glaring at the wolf in heavy sorrow-filled suspicion. "But I can't sense any living chakra within this being. It's the Edō Tensei."

Reaching for the handle of his katana, Nomasaki looked on in fearful shock, her senses confirming her worst fears were true. Jarring them both, the wolf drew closer at a walking pace. Within their reach, the decaying creature paused before them, letting out an eerie death-laden howl as it transformed into an indescribable shape.

"I'm sorry to meet you again this way…"

As they looked on in contained shock, only a distance away stood an elegant and feral woman with long flowing white hair and piercing lilac eyes. Her red kimono was dull in her state of decay, and her sclerae of her eyes dimmed the once notable vibrance of her strange but mesmerizing light purple eyes. Keeping her emotions in check, Nomasaki gulped at the sight before her – her mother, resurrected by their unknown masked enemy – Mikomi of the Yamamori clan.

"Mom…! But… why you…-?"

"It…! It… can't be! It's not possible!" Kyo stammered, frustratedly as he stood in contained shock. "Mikomi?!"

Standing idly behind the two Sunagakure shinobi, Hanone gave a subtle snarl from the sight of his previous master riddled with the constricts of summoning and decay. "The enemy has no force on its own, so they resurrect fallen ninja. How disgusting!" He spat through his fangs. "Surely they have no business desecrating the graves of our honored clansmen… especially that of your mother!"

"I wholeheartedly agree, Hanone-sama." Mikomi spoke, ever so gently.

Her lifeless eyes closed halfway in her immortal exhaustion. Turning her attention to the young kunoichi before her, she examined her emotional composure from a distance and her attire on the battlefield – slightly surprised by what she saw with her greyed eyes. Looking down, she gave a light smile as she closed her eyes in relief.

"Nomasaki… I see you're dressed as a Sunagakure shinobi… Never had I expected my own daughter to become a ninja, rather a kunoichi."

"Why resurrect you? I don't understand!" Nomasaki shouted, her eyes holding back her sadness from her loss with dignified might. "You weren't… a shinobi-?!"

"She was once," Kyo spoke, looking straight ahead at their resurrected enemy. Jolting, she turned to him. "Your mother was the sole living member of the Yamamori clan in the Land of Mountains. She guarded the mountain forest alone from the shadows… no one could catch a glimpse of her, the wolf who bounded through the cover of frost…"

As he reflected to himself as he stood across from the shell of a woman before him, his eyes narrowed in hidden sorrow – remembering their past lives together. While stationed in Yama many years ago, he came across the mysterious woman clothed in red as if by a chance encounter – the only man who could find her within the vast holds of the mountain forest. At the end of his duty every day, he would wait by the forest's edge for the wolf to draw near, until she emerged a golden-haired woman and told him her name. As if hypnotized by her elegance and serenity, he was smitten instantly – proposing to her at war's end and moving into the large winding tatami house with her on the snowy hill – fathering their only child and leaving them shortly after the birth. His eyes cleansed of memories, he locked eyes with the decaying woman.

"Nomasaki, stand your guard! She possesses your Kekkei Genkai and wind-release!"

Suddenly, Mikomi's arm began to quiver. That moment, a long black-bladed sword was withdrawn from her flowing sleeve – poised to attack. Quickly, she dashed towards them in ferocious speed. Sensing the approaching threat, Nomasaki withdrew her blade and blocked the oncoming slash of steel. The sound of sharp blades clashing filled the air, as if in a chilling nature. As pressure from their two strengths built up, they both distanced themselves on the battlefield.

"It seems as though my summoner is commanding my body to fight!" Mikomi shouted. "Please, defeat me! At once!"

Seeing her father drawing out his weapon from the corner of her eye, Nomasaki turned back. "Father, Hanone!" She started. "Please, get back!"

Surprised by her yell, Kyo's hand flinched on his blade while Hanone stood silent, his yellow beastly eyes analyzing the forthcoming battle. Facing her shelled mother, Nomasaki narrowed her eyes, a serious glint entering to shield her fear and past sorrow. As she tightened her grip on her katana, her fangs appeared within her mouth.

"This is a battle between Yamamori!"

* * *

Nomasaki appeared before Mikomi in a swift dash, swinging her katana. Blocking it with her own blade, Mikomi defended against her attacks. Between blows, Mikomi grabbed her sword's handle, pulling it apart - revealing them to be dual-swords. After blocking and defending against each other's bladed attacks, Nomasaki weaved several hand-signs in a quick fashion as she dodged a slice of the blade's air.

"I see you're using what Hanone-sama taught you…" Mikomi stated, forming the same hand-signs. "Very impressive!"

"Wind release! Forceful gale!"

Suddenly, the two wind attacks clashing before each other, the vast slices of torrential wind pounding against the terrain – creating a small crater on the desert battlefield. Sensing an opening, Nomasaki formed more hand-signs.

"Earth release! Desert wolves!"

From the confines of the earthy terrain at their feet, beasts of sand and earth sprawled out from the cracks in the ground – dashing towards Mikomi at a violent speed, their glowing yellow eyes boring into their target. As the wolves of sand approached her, she kicked them away, throwing a punch at one behind her with a left hook. As one approached her from behind, Mikomi closed her eyes and shook her skin as she could feel the little control she had over her new form slip away – lunging towards the oncoming attack with fangs barred and claws sharp. Ripping apart the sand creatures with ease, the towering white wolf with strong limbs and large jaws snarled and bit at the beasts of sand that lunged towards it. Mikomi was a fully grown wolf at death, rivalling the legendary sizes of the direwolves that lurked in the distant Land of Frost. Her ferocity was just as fearful.

From the corner of her narrowed beastly eyes, a white wolf smaller than she suddenly dashed towards her, jumping onto her back and gnawing onto her decaying fur. Nomasaki. Out of the cover of fog, she leapt for attack as the wolf blood in her veins boiled in haste. Swinging forward, the two white wolves lunged at each other, rolling in the sand, thrashing about as they snarled and exchanged blows with their barred jaws and kicks – their harsh yelps and barking echoing in the mist-filled landscape.

* * *

It felt as if hours had passed...

Switching back and forth from human to wolf, they fought violently while Kyo and Hanone stood idly by – witnessing the two Yamamori cast wind, water, and earth release attacks at each other. Between the slashes of blades, they would morph their arms into that of a beast, slashing with sharpened claws between blocks. The battle was taking a toll on Mikomi's husk, each attack leaving a more defined impression on her decaying and greyed body. Small cuts were on Nomasaki's flak jacket and on her face, with tiny specs of blood on her cheeks, and her Allied Forces headband was dirtied and scuffed, glistening in the faint light of the early morning. Standing on her two legs, she stood across from her enemy with a glare, coughing up a tiny amount of blood and wiping it on her black sleeve.

"Wind release! Summit Storm!"

Alerting her, looking up she seen her mother – tears in her decaying husk – with her fingers positioned into a menacing hand-sign. Suddenly, the winds around them fell dense, striking her direction with more force than she could imagine. Quickly, she held her hands out before her, forming hand-signs for the same jutsu – knowing full well her earth-release would not stand a chance.

"Wind release! Summit Storm!"

In an instant, the massive spirals of violent air clashed into each other – flattening the terrain around them and cutting their arms with faint scratches as the winds flickered blindly around them from the source of impact. Solidifying her stance, she pressed her hands forward, gritting her fanged teeth in her struggling strength – remembering how similar it was to the last time she countered an enemy as strong, and what her enemy did in combat. Widening her glare from the risky idea, she stomped her foot into the ground, slashing her hands across the wind with a loud yelling howl – causing Mikomi to lose her footing from the force, her body tearing at the arms from the dissipating violent winds. Clapping her hands together, Nomasaki eyed her mother with her shinobi mantra shielding her emotions.

"Earth release! Four-walled prison!"

Rumbling the earth beneath her hollow body, thick pillars of the desert earth rose from the sands, surrounding Mikomi and slamming together, preventing her escape and recovery. Panting slightly from the overuse of her chakra, Nomasaki could sense that the battle was not yet over, dreading her further capabilities. If she used wind-release, her mother would counter, and if she used earth-release, her mother could break through it. All she had left was water-release, her third chakra type and the newest skill she had – although shaky at times of execution. Narrowing her eyes at the earth prison ahead of her, she knew she was running out of options.

"Nomasaki!" Her father shouted far behind her. "You must finish this quickly! We need to seal her away-!"

"No! We must not interfere!" Hanone interjected, whipping his large snarling head towards the human beside him. "Doing so is a violation of clan law!" Looking on at the battle at hand, he knew the end was still out of reach – his senses could feel Mikomi's decayed chakra resonating within the earth prison waiting to escape.

Wincing, Nomasaki could feel a muscle tearing in her calf, grasping it with her hands lightly – a side effect of countering the strong wind jutsu earlier. Suddenly, she froze, sensing a dense chakra begin to form across from her – the earth prison was shaking. In an instant, the winds picked up once more, shattering the earth walls around Mikomi, who stood white-eyed and inhuman. Before Nomasaki could react, the wind struck her, flinging her across the desert ground, smashing into the sands at her back – knocked unconscious from the impact.

"Nomasaki!"

As she flickered her eyes, she could hear the sound of her father's voice yelling her name. Pulling herself up from the ground, she looked up at her resurrected mother who was completely at the will of the Edō Tensei master – her fingers forming another hand-sign for her powerful wind attacks. Her eyes widening as she realized her fate, she struggled to lift herself up in time.

But it was too late.

Time felt as if it came to a stop that moment.

A howl broke against the mist-ridden land, powerful and chilling.

Witnessing the sight of the chakra that appeared, Nomasaki's eyes widened in sorrowful horror.

As the wind release escaped her mother's greyed hands, a white flash appeared before her, dashing directly into the path of the jutsu. With his jaws barred with unrelenting ferocity, Hanone lunged directly towards their foe – his pearl white fangs glistening in the faded sun. As the wind struck his body and painted the air with a crimson haze, his jaws clasped onto Mikomi's frail and decaying body, ripping apart her head and arm from her decaying husk – devouring his previous master in a rain of red and white.

Falling to her knees, Mikomi's lower half collapsed to the sands as the paper of her fleeting shell struggled to rejoin her form. She appeared to have burst from the seams, her red kimono shattered like glass against the greyed sands beneath. The papers swirled and rained down towards her shell, surrounding the great wolf as his weight fell upon the sands with a thunder. With jaws gaped open desperate for breath, the once proud white beast lay in a pool of his own blood.

"Hanone -!" Nomasaki cried out, her eyes wet with tears. "HANONE!"

Shocked and eyes wet from the sight across from her, she grit her teeth and dashed forward. She formed her hand-signs hastily, emotion clouding her judgement. "Wind release! Forceful gale!" Swiftly, the remainder of Mikomi's artificial body was thrust away with the winds into the dunes. Desperately, Nomasaki ran to Hanone's side as he lay collapsed on the battlefield, his beastly jaws oozing blood at each breath as he clung to what little strength remained in his being. Her fingers trembled as she lay them upon his reddened fur. The familiar coat of snow-white warmth she knew and clung to as a girl was now a coat of death and crimson. Pushing herself to glance at his injuries, her gut twisted as she could see the outline of a rib. His body appeared to be covered in red tar, heaving at every breath through his nostrils and jaws.

Death was waiting for him - she could already feel it on the winds.

"Hanone..." She uttered, patting his fur with her trembling hand. "Why did you…? Your injuries - they're mortal...! Why...?"

"I served my purpose to your mother… I protected you…" He said, weakly. Scoffing, he winced at his mortal injuries as he could feel his chakra slip away. "I was… a fool to try to change what was already set in motion… I was... being selfish... I'll admit that... I've lived almost eight centuries... I saw the clan rise, and I saw the clan fall... I saw you as a young girl, helpless as a pup... become a human more wolf than I could have ever imagined... My only regret is not being able to see what you will become in the future…"

Holding back tears, Nomasaki looked down, closing her eyes tightly as she could feel sobs rise into her throat. In only a matter of moments, Hanone earned her trust with his forgiveness - but he earned his death in turn. Sympathetically, her father stood by her side, gazing down at the dying wolf in understanding. Having only met the foul-mouthed beast a handful of times in the snowy mountains many years ago, he looked upon the beast with eyes unclouded.

"And you..." Hanone managed a weakened snarl. "I was... wrong for what I did... but I will always despise you, Kyo... I will take that to my grave..."

Staying silent, Kyo closed his eyes and gave a nod.

Her hands shaking upon his blood-soaked fur, Nomasaki hung her head low as the sobs forced their way into her throat. They swelled into her mouth, her tightly shut eyes running with streams of choked back tears. His chakra was fading from her senses, the chakra that once guarded her, protected her, taught her, pushed her forward - and it was leaving her forever. She could not bring herself to say her parting words to him. She never planned it, let alone so soon. They were at war. Feeling his breaths heave lighter and weaker each passing second, her eyes shot open in alarm as his breathing near came to a stop. Her eyes pleading, she gripped onto his fur tighter as his jaws eased on the sands.

 _Don't go_ , she wanted to cry out, _Don't leave me...!_

 _Please don't leave me alone... Please...!_

But no words freed themselves from her throat. Helplessly, she was sentenced to watch the last wolf of her clan die with his blood on her human hands. His chakra was fainter than it was, its light nearly gone out completely. Death was beside them, watching with patient eyes as the beast took his final breaths on mortal soil. His lungs grasped air for the last time as his chest heaved under her trembling hands.

"Nomasaki," Hanone breathed, his voice fading. "Thank you… for giving me faith in you humans once again… Tell Mikomi… I'll be… waiting…"

As his final breath escaped his crimson-tinged jaws, the wolf's yellow eyes glazed over. His body fell silent on the red sands, his chest no longer raising. In a cloud of sudden smoke, the wolf disappeared by the dispelling of the Summoning Jutsu – bound forever by the contract of her clan.

And she was the last wolf...


	31. A Promise

**Chapter 31  
** **A Promise**

* * *

Her fingers trembled in the sand as they clasped the grains in her palms, the red iron staining the ground beneath her.

Shaking, she hung her head low and closed her eyes tightly, trying her best to prevent her tears from escaping - but it was no use. As her tears fell from her shut eyes, she let out a pained wail of grief. Her last and only remnant of her home of the north was gone forever - her loyal companion and guardian that gave his life protecting her. The last wolf was left in shambles.

"Hanone…!" She wept, her entire body quivering. "I'm sorry…! I'm so sorry…"

Looking on in shared sorrow, Kyo stood silent and witnessed his daughter shout on the red sands, mourning her loss in her emotionally fragile state. Taught all her shinobi life to conceal her emotions, she could not bear to hold them within any longer. Curse the shinobi world, she thought - how else would she be able to cope? As her breathing returned to normal after crying out into the still air, she opened her eyes and glanced at her bloodstained hands before her - her damp eyes narrowed in hatred for the caster of the Edō Tensei. Wiping away the tears from her cheeks, she knew that the battle against her reanimated mother was far from over.

As her hands were painted with her wolf's blood, Nomasaki clenched her fists as she lifted herself up from the ground where he gave his final breath – eyeing the resurrected enemy with a glare tinted with sorrow and great anger all at once. She could sense her mother regenerating her lost torso and limbs as the flutter of decay surrounded her grey body as if moths to a flame.

She gave in to her rage.

"Curse you!"

Never before had she felt such intense hatred for someone before. Grounding herself in the sands, she suddenly ripped through her skin and changed into a snarling beast – a thick coat of white fur enveloping her as a loud snarl broke through her morphing muzzle of sharp glistening canines. Digging her claws into the dirt, the wolf gave a ghastly growl from its jaws and dashed towards the resurrected kunoichi in pure ferality.

She was not a shinobi – she was a wolf.

Before Mikomi could react, the snarling beast leapt towards her and tore off a limb in an instant – particles of her fragile husk scattered amongst the winds. Before the wolf could lunge towards her once more, Mikomi gave a snarl as she shook off her paper skin and became a wolf as well. Lunging towards her daughter, the decaying wolf with the dead lilac eyes snapped and tore at the fur clinging to her thick mane. Tumbling and yelping as they exchanged bites and swipes of their clawed feet, the two white wolves rolled in the disturbed dunes with fanged barred. Although a snap decision on Nomasaki's part, it proved to be a dangerous one as Mikomi's size was larger than her own, near rivaling the size of her summon who was alive only moments ago. Nearing the size of the direwolves spoken in legends of the Land of Frost, Mikomi was much larger and far much stronger.

However, she was not faster.

After hitting a drop from the dunes, the two wolves were separated at last. Bounding around the large snarling wolf that waited to strike out, Nomasaki leapt from the cover of the mists – landing a hit towards Mikomi's hind leg. Then, another to her neck, the fragments of her husk erupting into the air from the impact. Suddenly, there was silence as the smaller white wolf disappeared in sight and sound.

A faint growl erupted into the still air.

Out of the heavy mists that concealed the battlefield along the battered coastline, the smaller white wolf leapt out from its hiding place with only one thing on its mind – the hunt. Lunging towards the towering wolf, Nomasaki landed upon its backside. Without a second thought, her fangs dug into its coarse and decaying fur and pulled from it a pound of charred flesh and bone – the pieces bursting into fragments as her form desperately tried to reassemble itself. Yelping and growling, Mikomi's body shook as it tried to shake the pest from its back. Unrelenting, Nomasaki bit into another spot, travelling closer and closer to the neck.

The hunt was made.

Furiously, the larger wolf whipped itself around, forcing Nomasaki to grab it by the tail with her jaws. Upon making face to face contact as Mikomi's tail brought her closer, their muzzles flared in monstrous snarls as their ears flattened against their heads. Once more, they quarreled, snapping towards each other with their fanged jaws against the sands.

Ferociously, the larger wolf struck her. Forcefully, Nomasaki was flung against the dunes, her wolf form striking the sands with a loud thud and a pained yelp followed by an angered whimper. Circling her, the large wolf barred its fangs and arched its back as it watched the small white wolf transform back into its human form.

Wiping the blood from her lips, Nomasaki found her strength to stand once more against her reanimated and demonic mother.

Startling her for a moment, she sensed an oncoming attack approach from her right. From the corner of her eye, a large blast of wind struck the snarling wolf that stood before her. It knocked the beast away, sending it apart in scattered pieces that struggled to reform the shape of its fallen shinobi. Turning behind, she saw her father in fighting stance – his palms and finger still locked in his last weaved hand-sign. Looking back towards the wolf, she narrowed her eyes towards it as she felt her rage begin to fade.

Knowing she had to end the battle quickly before her chakra was depleted, she thought hard for an effective strategy.

Wind-release was easily countered, earth-release would not hold – water was all that remained. Her third and final chakra nature transformation, water-release was something she only recently discovered. As shinobi would become stronger with time, it was not unheard of for some to have three chakra natures. She was born with the wind and learned how to change the earth when she was all but a chunin. Water was her last and only option – and the nature she was weakest at using. Detecting footsteps beside her, she kept her glance locked on her slowly regenerating mother.

"We're running low on time," Her father spoke, pausing beside her – glaring at the enemy as well. "I'll help you finish this. Clan law or not, this is war."

"I need a diversion while I form my jutsu," She said. "My water-release is new to me… so I will need appropriate time to cast the jutsu."

Grasping the sheath of his katana strapped on the back of his tan flak jacket, he formed a single hand-sign with his hand. "Follow my lead," He commanded. "Quickly!" In a flash, her father leapt forward with his blade, a thick aura of wind encasing it like a veil – piercing the very air it touched.

"Wind release! Blade of Wind!"

As Mikomi's human husk was nearly healed by her caster, she reached out as if to counter the blade – her hand sliced clean off in an instant from the approaching winds. Forming the hand-signs needed, Nomasaki solidified her stance for her technique. Wincing, her body pulsed at her gesture, forcing her to fall to her knees in weakness. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself up again as she could sense her father begin to struggle against Mikomi's counters with her regenerating hands and wind-release attacks. Clapping her hands together at the end of the jutsu's hand-signs, she could feel the force of her chakra squeezing the last bit of strength she had left – gnashing her fanged teeth in desperation for the jutsu to arrive in time.

Miraculously, she felt its presence awakening – its flow sweeping before her.

"Water release! Water Dragon Jutsu!"

Appearing before her from the water vapor of the shroud of mist and fog, a large beast-like form emerged from the water that collected on the battlefield. As its massive shadow covered its target from a distance, her father leapt from its reach as it let out a wail in pursuit. Dashing towards Mikomi in a violent speed, the dragon of water lashed out at the resurrected woman, fending off against the wind-release counters she summoned. Suddenly, in a quick movement, the dragon struck her abdomen – sending her decaying body across the desert sands with a thud. While the fragments of her husk desperately tried to reconstruct as her body was cut in half – destroyed beyond reasonable repair.

"Quickly! This way!"

As Kyo turned, he seen a team of four sealing shinobi from Suna approach from beyond the dunes, scurrying towards the battlefield in urgent speed. "The resurrected enemy is directly ahead!" One called. "Ready the binding cloth and sealing tags!"

As she lay separated on the dry earth below, Mikomi looked down for a moment, her lilac pupils shining slightly in her severe decaying state – her joyous sadness appearing almost human. "You've done well, Nomasaki." She said, softly. "I'm… proud of you."

Collapsing to her knees, Nomasaki panted, exhausted from the overuse of her chakra. "At least now the enemy can't use you…" She panted. "When the caster releases the Edō Tensei, you'll be free. You can return to the Pure Land when this is all over."

"Mikomi," Kyo spoke, stepping forward. "I…-,"

"No need." As he stood in surprise of her interruption, Mikomi smiled warmly at him – her husband. "It's alright. I understood the circumstances… I don't blame you for anything."

Tears forming in his eyes, he nodded, acknowledging her words. "Mikomi…"

"I should be the one to apologize." Mikomi spoke, her decayed body unable to regenerate in her split state. "I couldn't gather the courage to tell our daughter the truth…. why you left… For that, I'm sorry… to both of you…"

Trying to mask her pain, Nomasaki closed her eyes in hopes of repressing her sorrow. "It's okay, mom." She assured. "I now understand why... Father did it to protect us. It was his duty... to protect the ones he loved." The sobs rose back into her throat, hanging her head low with shut eyes. "Just as Hanone... -,"

She could not bring herself to say the rest.

"Yes," Mikomi nodded, understanding. "Hanone fulfilled his promise to me... He protected you and he cared for you deeply... He was true to his word... right until the very end..." Closing her faded eyes, her empty husk felt a tinge of mortal sorrow. "I'm so sorry for what happened... My body isn't my own... It moved by itself, bending to the will of that caster... I regret that we are reunited in this way... As your mother, I apologize... Remember me as you always have - forget about this monster laying before you... Remember your kind, patient, and wolfish mother..."

Shutting her eyes tightly, Nomasaki averted her glance and forced away the crying. Tears streamed from Nomasaki's shut eyes, her hands trembling as they clutched her knees. One by one, they struck the black fabric of her pants and the sands that settled around her. "Hanone told me - to tell you... that he's... waiting for you - in the Pure Land...!"

Seeing her tears, her mother have a gentle smile of empathy, guilt and regret hidden behind her greyed eyes. She nodded. "I'll be sure to tell him everything." She said. "I must apologize to him, for all that's happened..."

As Kyo stood watching his daughter and late wife bear their souls, he tearfully smiled at his family. It felt as if it were yesterday that he sat by his wife's birthing bed and looked upon the newborn that lay asleep and swaddled in its mother's arms. She was born during a great snow, he recalled. The great hearth of the Yamamori homestead kept them warm while the blankets of pelts comforted them in sleep. They chose their child's name carefully, with Mikomi remembering the blooming blue flowers that poked through the mountain's unforgiving snows.

 _Blue blossoms in a field of white - that was where the name came from._

Seventeen years had passed since then, and not a day went by where he was not wishing circumstances were different and that they were together as a family. Sunagakure and its loyalists called him a blood-traitor, a beast-lover - a defector. Ten years of scouring the western desert was his punishment, returning by the grace and sympathy of the Fourth Kazekage who took pity on him. It was not until seven years later where he would finally reunite with his lost daughter as a young woman grown - and gain the news that his wife has passed. It tore him deep inside to see his wife brought back by their unseen enemy, forced to fight the living under their ruthless bidding. At least her soul could finally be at peace.

"Nomasaki," Mikomi began, her consciousness fading. "Your father and I are very proud of you for what you have become. You're an excellent shinobi, and we love you very much. I know Hanone-sama was just as proud as we are."

As the white cloth began to wrap around her, she let out a relieved sigh - her face beginning to crack and peel away under the cover of the sealing jutsu. As her fading vision glanced at the silhouettes of her husband and daughter, the shroud of white concealed her away from the constricts of the living – her power fading by the second as her vision blackened.

"I'm sorry about this, to both of you… I love you both."

Watching the red seal tag activate on her mother's sarcophagus of white, Nomasaki looked on, sadness entering her drained lilac eyes. At last, her mother could finally be at peace.

And Hanone, too...

* * *

It was not until midday when the winds finally calmed.

After a moment of silence to the mist-filled winds, a medical-ninja from the sealing team healed Nomasaki's injuries from her skirmish with Mikomi as they took cover in the vast dunes of the Land of Lightning's desert. Her wounds were scarce and easy to treat, but her chakra had a ways to regain what it lost. She was pushed to her limits, and her chakra was still reeling. In a matter of minutes and careful focus, her wounds were quickly healed. As the medical-nin walked off to discuss matters with their teammates, her father approached where she sat. His expression was calm and fierce from his brow, but she could sense his concern that he masked behind his exhausted hazel eyes.

"Are you sure you're alright to go on?" Her father asked. "You used up quite a fair bit of chakra. You can rest, you've fought hard."

She nodded, meeting his eyes. "I can't, I'm afraid. I must return to the Fourth Division as soon as possible. I'm a sensory-type, so they need me out there." Lightly, she gave a small friendly smile. "You and mom said I'm strong, so I'll be okay. I am a Yamamori, and I'm also a shinobi of Suna. But I am also a wolf. The blood of the wolf flows in my veins - I will be strong."

Assured, Kyo smiled. If the desert gods of his were good, her words could be trusted. A loud guffaw and cheering suddenly broke the silence of the still air that danced along the mists. Turning towards the boisterous noise, the group of sealing shinobi in the distance were huddled together sharing pitched cheers of relief. Amongst where they sat, they could faintly make out their conversation from the winds that carried their words.

"Hey! Did you hear? Kazekage-sama and Tsuchikage-sama defeated the past Kage!"

"T-The past Kage?"

"Yeah! The ones brought back with Edō Tensei!"

"That's Kazekage-sama! No one stands a chance against him, he's the strongest shinobi Suna has ever witnessed! It's no wonder Gaara-sama was made the Regimental Commander."

 _Kazekage-sama - Gaara...!_

Surprised, her eyes widened from the mention of his name. She felt as if her heart would skip a beat, the mere sound of his title alone jolting her concern. Breathing easy, she was relieved to hear that he was alright. What was more - he was leading his people and the Allied Forces to victory against their enemy. He would crush them, she knew it - they would crush the Akatsuki at last. When she would see him next, she decided she would congratulate him on his victory - and maybe even feel brave enough to tell him everything.

"That means we should be on the move, then! We should make haste to support Kazekage-sama!"

Her father's voice jolted her for a moment, catching her off guard in her brief daze. "O-Oh, right -!" She nodded, slightly flustered. "Y-Yes."

She let herself be taken by her thoughts. Looking down to her lap, she smiled gently to herself, thinking of her village's young leader. He was incredibly strong, powerful, wise for his young age, and a peacemaker – an esteemed leader suitable for the title of Kazekage. And she stood beside him through thick and thin, on good days and bad days, and during times of peace and times of strife. She seen it all.

- _Why should I be so surprised…? You've become a fine leader, and I've seen it happen from the very start…_ -

Starting for the division in the far off distance, she soon realized that her father was headed into the opposite direction. Feeling an eerie presence on the winds, Kyo turned towards the gusts – his fading orange hair swaying from the breeze. When he turned to meet her glance of concern, a stern slate etched onto his expression, his years as a shinobi shining through his hazel eyes.

"I'm going to escort these shinobi back to the medic tents," He spoke. "Be careful, for me, okay?"

"Will I see you again?" She asked, her eyes growing saddened. "Will you... come back?"

"Of course," He drew his katana from its sheath and kept it at his side. "When the divisions regroup, I'll be sure to find you."

With a smile, she nodded once. "Alright, then. Take care, father." Before departing, she turned back to him for a final time. "Until the war is over, I forbid you to die."

A faint chuckle passed his lips, amused by her choice of words. "Same from me to you. Be safe, Nomasaki."

After giving her a parting nod, she turned her back towards him in the winds. A coat of white soon enveloped her, shrouding her as she changed into the wolf within. Swiftly, the white wolf bounded across the dunes and broke through the shield of mist that separated them from the rest of the world.

Leaving it all behind.

* * *

It was not long until the husks of the Second Mizukage and Third Raikage turned back into dust.

While Gaara stood on the battlefield beside Ōnoki after the Third Raikage was defeated, the winds were strangely at calm – the calm before the coming storm. Narrowing his eyes off into the distance, he knew that the war was only just beginning. As he could hear the sounds of slight commotion and conversing behind him, he turned to see what was occurring in his division. His eyes widening in slight surprise, saw the shape of a white creature in the distance amongst the hundreds of shinobi. Pausing, he seen the wolf become his assistant, bowing her head briefly to Temari as they seemed to exchange words with one another.

It was her.

"What is it, young Kazekage?"

Turning to the elderly Tsuchikage, Gaara glanced ahead with a calm expression of relief on his pale features. "My assistant has arrived."

Calmly, she walked towards him, kneeling before him in servitude. "My apologies," She began. "My scouting was interrupted by the enemy… they were using the Edō Tensei as a diversion." Feeling the sting of battle enter her mind, she averted her eyes to hide her emotion. "Unfortunately, the battle took longer than planned... but we were able to stop it with the help of the sealing division."

"Hm," Ōnoki scoffed. "It seems every division has experienced the Edō Tensei at some degree. Akatsuki, the cowards…!"

Nodding, she stepped closer, pausing before them with a scroll in hand. "Here is the intel we gathered on the front," She replied, holding out the parchment. "It's not much, but according to my senses, the Edō Tensei is nearly contained. Only a few remain."

"Good work," Gaara nodded, taking the scroll into his pack on his side. "Can you sense anything nearby?"

"Nothing really," She spoke, turning to the west. "Although… there is a presence far off that's concerning. The chakra is… not human."

"How so?"

Turning back to him, her eyes slightly narrowed. "… it's riddled with death."

"Kazekage-sama," Ōnoki interrupted, turning to him. "We should send for shinobi to scout the perimeter. There could be more of the Edō Tensei lurking."

"Right," Gaara nodded, glancing to him. "We'll send for them now."

"I'll see to it,"

As the elderly Tsuchikage floated towards the scouts a distance away, Gaara turned to her – an expression of slight concern visible on his face. He noticed the scratches upon her cheeks and the evidence of sorrow in her eyes. She appeared as if utterly defeated - emotionally spent. Likewise, he appeared the same - although more so exhausted from the ongoing ordeal of war. He could read through her eyes like a book.

"Who was it… you fought?"

"My mother," She answered, her eyes blank - understanding what he meant. "And you?"

"My father."

Looking down, her eyes closed halfway as she contained her sadness. "I guess we both weren't very lucky," She spoke, quietly. "This war… the enemy is toying with us… knowing full well the taboo of emotions in shinobi law…"

Nodding once in agreement, he glanced to his side – remembering his encounter with his father, the Fourth Kazekage. The words they exchanged resonated within him - how Yashamaru truly cared for him, and how his mother's undying love was present in his sand's protective veil. He was still struggling to mentally process everything that occurred, but it brought a sorrowful relief to him, nonetheless.

"It's cruel," He replied. "But in a way, healing at the same time."

Meeting his glance, she looked on with an empathetic gaze. "That's true."

Even as he stood before her, the rift that was edged between them was obvious. Her bruises may have been gone, but the memory of them painting her face still struck him. Things have not been the same since that fateful day. Still, her eyes appeared to him as they always have. Kind. He gave her the benefit of the doubt, he remembered - _it was all Kenzō's doing, not hers_. He wanted to trust her - and trust her he was going to do.

"Nomasaki,"

Catching her attention, she paused in the sands, turning to meet his face. "Yes, Kazekage-sama?"

"No, don't call me that - not now," He said. Averting his eyes at first, he rose his eyes towards her. "I need to ask you something. Not between a Kage and his assistant, but between two shinobi... two friends."

She felt her heart still. "What is it?" She asked, her eyes concerned.

Looking down, he found himself growing strangely vulnerable as the words spilled from his lips. He confessed. "This war is pushing everyone - the world, even. I have to do everything in my power to not only command, but to live up to my role as a leader. I'm worried that I... won't be able to be the leader... I want to be. I'm worried that... as Kazekage, I will fail." He confessed, his ringed-eyes closing halfway. "My father... When we fought, he said he judged the value in things, determined their worth..." Meeting her curious and worried eyes, a stern expression etched itself on his face while his ringed-eyes appeared pleading. "I'm asking you as a shinobi - as my friend... How can I be sure I'm doing what's right?"

His words struck her as strange. Taken aback briefly, she stood in silence as the winds blew past. "You're not one to second-guess yourself." She answered. "From working as your assistant these past few years, I know the pressure you face as our Kazekage and the challenges that come with it." Pondering to herself, she felt his eyes locked on her from across the sands, waiting for an answer. "It's not for the faint of heart... That's for sure." Glancing up to him, she gave a calm nod. "Being Kazekage was your dream, to unite everyone under the name of the village and protect them as its leader. All I can offer you as someone who is of the sand... is that before you can be the Kazekage you want, you must be the Kazekage _we need_."

"All chunin and jonin-level shinobi in their positions!"

From the call, she started towards the formation for their division so she could prepare for the unit's next attack. Pausing in her steps, she stood in the cool sands that morning. glanced back at him for a moment. "I've kept my promise to you."

Catching his curiosity, he turned to her - meeting the gleam of her golden hair from the sun. Ringing his memory, he remembered the words she spoke to him during the Chunin Exams in Kumogakure - her pledge to him in his endeavours.

 _"I will be there for you because... I believe in you. I will be there, I promise."_

"For the last three years, I've been at your back... supporting you as Kazekage." She continued, her back facing him. "I'm grateful that I'm your assistant. But now," Turning to him, she gave a soft and determined smile. "It's time for us to support each other."

Meeting her gaze, he looked into her bright violet eyes at a distance before she departed to her position with the rest of the Fourth Division.

His ringed-eyes still dry from weeping earlier, he watched Nomasaki leave to join Temari and the other shinobi as she was beckoned to their side. While he watched her stand in position, he saw her golden hair sway in the eerily calm winds as her serious yet determined lilac eyes gleamed from the hesitant sun. Thinking about the words spoken to him by his late father and Yashamaru, he began to understand what they meant by what it truly was to give and receive unconditional understanding and protection.

Love.

As he looked on from a distance, he kept his worrying thoughts to himself – preparing for what was to come over the horizon…

* * *

 _ **Notes:**_ The name of Nomasaki's mother, Mikomi, can be translated into a few different meanings. Mikomi (見込) can be translated to "prospects", "hope", or "expected" depending on the spelling/characters. An unofficial translation of the name can also be interpreted as "incorruptible child" but the meaning is not entirely certain.


	32. Tanuki's Bond

_**Notes:**_ Song recommendation / / "Uja" by Tanya Tagaq

* * *

 **Chapter 32  
** **Tanuki's Bond**

* * *

As the war dragged on, two mysterious figures stepped towards the Fourth Division, chilling Nomasaki's senses as she stood within the crowd of onlookers.

Standing before the army of shinobi, Uchiha Madara and Mū, the Second Tsuchikage, stood glaring down at them – two of the world's most renowned and feared shinobi, resurrected by the enemy's Edō Tensei. Uchiha Madara, the legendary menace of Konoha and rival of Senju Hashirama, looked down upon the living with an eerie and threatening glare to his gleaming red eyes – his awakened Sharingan. To face him would mean certain death for many.

Gritting his teeth, the elderly Tsuchikage glanced above at the adversaries as he stood beside the Kazekage. "So you've come… Uchiha Madara!"

"What's going on?!" Gaara questioned, shocked.

"W-What do you mean?" Naruto stammered.

Gesturing to the resurrected ninja above them, Gaara glared at the enemy. "Look carefully at his eyes… That's Edō Tensei."

Temari turned to him, her green eyes full of shock and panick. "Hold on!" She barked. "We received intelligence reports that he's heading towards the jinchuriki!"

"If that's true," Ōnoki started, narrowing his gaze at the Uchiha and his predecessor. "Then… who in the world is behind that mask?!"

As Nomasaki stood in the crowd of ninja poised to attack on command, the presence of Madara paralyzed her. So many kills, so much blood - the murderous intent and desire to be a god. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before in her life, dwarfing Shukaku in comparison to its darkness. While her wolf instincts were telling her to flee, she stood her ground with her fists shivering at her sides as her eyes were wide with fear.

 _Wolves do not fear_ , she forced herself to remember, _wolves devour fear._

Turning to her comrade, Temari had taken notice. "Nomasaki, snap out of it!" Jolting from her call, Nomasaki looked to her captain, meeting her stern green eyes. "Stay focused! You're forgetting you're also a wind-release user - we must be prepared for attack!"

"R-Right!"

Swiftly and within a matter of minutes, the Uchiha jumped towards the division and decimated their numbers, using a mixture of blinding hand-to-hand combat, Sharingan, fire-release jutsu, and overall incomprehensible strength. From the direction of the wails of defeat and death, she whipped her head towards the oncoming sleuth of impacts throughout the massively crowded army of shinobi. As she seen shinobi from each and every village mercilessly slaughtered by the resurrected Uchiha, her body tensed as his overwhelmingly dark chakra drew closer. In a faint glimmer of the sun, she could see the crimson tint of his Sharingan – chilling her senses as she stood poised to counter his approach.

A wave of boiling red flame burst forth from his released jutsu, tearing through the sands and splitting the sea of charging shinobi in two. It was a wall of pure hellfire. Her heart stopped. The heat of the flames shot through her despite her being a safe distance away. Seeing it froze her in her stance, her violet eyes wide and her body suddenly fraught with trembling. Memories flashed before her eyes in an instant - her burning home on the mountaintop, the slain villagers, her mother's final words, Hanone's bloodied death, the emblem of the invaders - all turned to fire before her very eyes.

"Here he comes!"

The chakra of the Uchiha suddenly came whirling towards where she stood.

Snapping out of her fearful daze, she whipped her head in the chakra's direction. Her eyes were still wide and strained from her painful mental scars, frantic and pained. Screams filled the air as did the battle-cries, followed by dozens of shinobi flung into the air and a barrage of paper-bombs detonating on their casters' flak jackets. Death charged head-on. It would not be long until she would be forced to face him. Flailing at the oncoming hordes of ninja, the resurrected Uchiha tore through the wall of shinobi with eyes red with power.

Swallowing her fear of fire and death, she saw her chance.

Dashing towards him, she formed hand-signs for an earth-release attack. Seeing her attack from the corner of his glowing red eyes, he dodged in a swift and acrobatic motion, striking his fist in response. Dodging his counter by a hair, she swung under him with her feather-like agility, kicking him with her two legs at once with as much force as she could offer. She could feel her blood boil with her kekkei genkai, ready to change into the beast she was. She would sink her jaws onto him and rip him to pieces.

 _She had to - now_.

His Sharingan sensed it, its eery red glow striking itself into her eyes.

Within an instant, he evaded her strike effortlessly. Before she had the chance to transform, he grasped both of her legs and slamming his foot into her ribs. Blood coughed its way from her throat, her eyes gone wide in fear. _Death was coming - it was here_. Breathless from the impact, she was flung across the battlefield in a forceful path towards the harsh earth below - her body not touching the ground once.

Seeing her distress from the corner of his vision, Gaara's eyes widened in frustrated shock. Promptly, he rose his arm towards her, glaring in the direction of the impact. Before she could strike the ground, her body hit the soft cover of sand. Opening her eyes, she found herself surrounded by a blanket of minerals, cushioning her fall. As she was brought swiftly to Gaara's side, she looked up at him, her eyes wide from her fear of the enemy's chakra and the shock of her encounter with the untouchable Uchiha Madara.

"Thank you," She murmured, pulling herself up from the sand.

"Stay back! You know how strong this one is," Gaara answered, his eyes locked onto the Uchiha. "You're a sensory-nin, you can't be on the front-lines. Withdraw for now."

Sensing the iron to his voice, she submitted. "Yes, Gaara-sama." As she moved to stand, her ribs hurt. Clutching her chest with her palm, she breathed carefully as her feet solidified onto the sands under them. "This chakra..." Narrowing her eyes, she stared down the resurrected shinobi who slaughtered their men at a distance. "It's unlike anything I've ever sensed... It's vile -!"

More wails and cries of death erupted onto the battlefield.

As the sole Uchiha ruptured through the shinobi army with his blasts of fire and relentless power, a sudden wall of wind struck him. Flung violently into the air, the decaying husk of the enemy flew several feet until striking the hard ground of sand and rock, crashing as if thunder. Standing firm in her stance with her war-fan, Temari readied herself for another attack with her jutsu.

"Don't you dare underestimate the power of shinobi!" She barked.

Watching him pat off the sands from his plated armor angered her. Arrogance. Gnashing her teeth, she prepared herself for another jutsu. Suddenly, as the air fell silent, a massive fire-release jutsu was released from his mouth – engulfing the battlefield in flames. In an instant, the water-release shinobi countered with a towering wall of water – neutralizing the flames of destruction. A fog of mist shrouded the land, the sounds of death and slaughter the only signals to Madara's whereabouts.

It were as if they were blind.

Hatching an attack strategy, Gaara turned to where his assistant stood behind him. "Nomasaki! Use your sensory abilities to find him - I'll draw him out."

"Right!" She nodded, sternly. Focusing her chakra, she closed her eyes and formed a hand-sign. Her eyes shot open towards where their enemy lurked. "Over there!"

Vapidly, a burst a sand flew towards the Uchiha pursuing him in a great and powerful wave. Evading, Madara leapt and bounded from its advances - only to be caught off guard by an attack from above. Slamming onto him, Naruto thrust a massive Rasengan onto the enemy. The impact broke earth and shattered the sky. A great blue fist emerged from the strike - the arm of impenetrable Madara's Susano'o. The tides of battle turned again, the allies losing more numbers than they could fathom as earth crumbled and shattered from each strike of the monster's swords. At least one hundred shinobi have perished at the hands of Madara single-handedly.

One hundred dead, one hundred gone.

Looking towards the path of the Uchiha, Gaara noticed him retreat to a high stone pillar beside the resurrected Second Tsuchikage, the Uchiha crossing his arms as he looked down at the Allied Forces beneath him in an intimidatingly terrifying presence. Jolting her from behind the cover of the Kazekage, Nomasaki's body trembled as her eyes went wide with fear – something was coming for them, and fast. Suddenly, a giant mass broke through the thick cloud cover above them - a large meteor of black stone as if from nowhere but the heavens.

"All of you! Get away as far as you can!" Gaara yelled, looking back at the army of ninja.

As their yells erupted from the breakage of the clouds, the meteor's shadow eclipsed the desert sands in a slow dirge. Summoning all his strength, he used his sand prowess to help Ōnoki repel the attack from crashing down, lifting the sands below towards the sky to soften the impact. Miraculously, it shook with a pause – relief swept upon the remaining troops from the sight. However - another rumble broke through the thick cloud cover above, revealing a second meteor. Smashing through the black orb of death in the sky, the planetary destruction ruptured through the halted meteor held by the elderly Tsuchikage – its fragments falling from the sky at an alarming plunge. To his shock, he seen Nomasaki in the crowd as he looked behind himself – defenseless and unable to run away from the disaster. Within seconds, he was before her, guarding her with an enormous shield of sand - protecting them and the rest of the division who remained. Covering them like an enormous cocoon, he braced for what was to come.

With a thunder, the impact approached…

* * *

As the dust finally cleared with the dead winds of the desert, utter devastation was littered across the void battlefield.

Sitting on his knees with his eyes closed in unconsciousness, the sand shield Gaara summoned above the division was completely destroyed – its fragments slowly falling to the earth below. Slowly, he opened his eyes, wincing as he pulled himself up from the ground - his sand armor crumbling away. Gathering himself, he looked around himself, his ringed-eyes wide with shock of the destruction that lay before him. As his eyes flickered towards the faintest sign of movement, he could see Nomasaki within his reach – struggling as she tried to lift herself while exhaustion and pain rumbled through her. Panting silently as she sat, her flak jacket was covered in scratches and dirt, while a subtle taste of iron lingered on the edge of her lips.

"Nomasaki!" Gaara spoke, facing her as he appeared closer. "Are you alright?"

Feeling a brief tremble within her, she clenched her fists in the sand. "I… I will be." She replied, panting. Looking up to meet his concerned glance, she nodded. "Thank you." Suddenly, a sharp pain throbbed through her left leg. Whimpering, she grasped it tightly, looking down in a somber stare. "I… I must be able to do something more…" She spoke, quietly. "To protect everyone…" Turning to her, Gaara remained silent as he watched her grasp on the sand become tighter as her fanged teeth clenched in fear and defeat. "I'm a jonin, a tracker-nin… but yet… I'm still so weak…"

"You're not weak." He spoke, without hesitation. Surprised, she looked up to meet his gaze – his turquoise eyes calming and full of depth. "You became a jonin for a reason, Nomasaki." He explained. "You've done a lot to protect the village, going as far as to fight in this war. You're serving Suna well. Remember… our enemy is Akatsuki, whose abilities are near inhuman." As he turned to examine the sight of destruction, his ringed-eyes narrowed. "The best we can do is stay strong and protect the future of shinobi." Looking back to her, he gave a stern-eyed glance of determination. "This is war… we need to work together if we want this to end."

"That's right," She said, looking down. "I came here to protect the village, the ones most important to me, and…"

As she felt the calming effect of his words, her grip on the sand lightened – reflecting on the current state of affairs around them. Glancing up at him as she lifted her head from her weakened slump, a faint smile became visible on her scratched face. All of her previous fears and regrets melted away with the realization of their fate - and she accepted it wholeheartedly.

"…I came here to protect you."

Surprised, his ringed-eyes widened from her words. Sensing his startled reaction, she chuckled to herself in self-pity. Sorrow swelling into her chest, she shut her eyes tightly in contained regret as the urge to cry in despair mounted inside her. Everything around her felt so bleak - the dead chakra on the winds proved it to her. The only presence she could feel nearby other than their chakra were the scattered faint remnants of the others who were fortunate enough to survive the enemy's attack. War truly was horrid, she thought.

"I... wanted to repay my debt for what I've done to you... As your assistant and as your friend, this is all I can offer. I hope that's okay... with you."

For a moment, he stayed silent. Absorbing her heartfelt words, he looked down upon the charred sand at their feet, his ringed-eyes closed halfway as he pondered of what to say in return. With eyes tinted with sorrow for the terrible timing that was thrust upon them, his mind once more remembered the words from his late father and uncle.

 _"Love is... the unconditional care and devotion you feel for the precious ones around you..."_

It was at that moment that he knew. She cared for him as much as he did for her. Warmed, he closed his eyes in understanding as he came to grips with what he was blind to over the last few years. There was nothing more he wanted than to be close to her, to be with her - to love her. As he sat before her under the dust covered skies of death, he edged closer in the sand, catching her attention and curiosity. Sensing his seriousness in his protective gaze, she felt strangely at ease. Unable to ask what he wanted to say, she remained in silent bewilderment.

"I know this isn't the time or place for this… but," He began. "I may never have the chance to tell you if this war doesn't end how we planned."

His words catching her attention, she looked up to him. Meeting his deep and protective gaze as he locked eyes with her, it felt as if time came to a standstill. The more he looked at her stunned expression, the more he could feel the heaviness of the weight rise up to his throat. The seriousness in his eyes fading into a pleading sorrow, he gazed upon her with his fractured expression etched with a slight frown.

"Nomasaki, you're precious to me. That's why I'm protecting you… I _want_ to protect you. Not because you're my assistant, but for our bond. I… care about you."

Her lilac eyes widening, she could feel her chest become light as if some large weight was finally lifted – fluttering from the baring of his soul. Looking down at her lap in her timid nature, she gently smiled to herself as she contained her growing sorrow that desperately wanted to cry out into the air. Her mother, Hanone, her hope - all but gone along with the majority of her comrades in the division to where she was assigned. Bringing herself to look him in the eyes once more, her heart sank at the thought of their last meeting.

"Gaara," She spoke, almost whisper-like. "I can't express enough how grateful I am to you… for everything. I…-,"

Before she could finish, she could feel his strong arms wrap around her, holding her tight against his body as his eyes were closed tightly – refusing to accept the current fate they faced. His hold was as tight as it was protective, causing her to initially think it was his sands that held her. Surprised by his actions, she held him close, burying her face into the padding of his flak jacket. He was so warm, so strong, and so kind, she thought to herself - just as she imagined. As her eyes glistened with her rising sadness, she could feel the lump return in her throat. Warmly, she smiled to herself, trying with all her might to prevent her tears from escaping.

"I can't tell you how long I wanted to tell you… and now…" Silently, sobs began to escape, cutting through her soft voice. "It feels… too late…"

Feeling her sorrow from her trembling words, he kept his eyes closed shut as he held her close. Not once has he ever felt the need to hold anyone - but with her, he made an exception. They were in dire times. It near surprised himself as he could not bear the thought to let her go. She could be lost forever if he did. As their arms around each other slowly parted, her hands trailed to the belts of the purple shield upon his flak jacket, shaking lightly with her eyes wide and head hung low. Still traumatized from the horror she witnessed and the chakra she felt in the air, she struggled to bring herself to grips with their current reality. He could sense her distress from the mere sight of her quivering golden head, her body shaking before him as muffled breaths escaped her lips.

"I'm going to do everything I can in my power as Kazekage to stop this war. I promise."

Not meeting his gaze, she nodded - trying not to think of the possibilities of war that await them. Her head lowered, the trauma still fresh in her memory. To her, all hope had seemed truly lost. Nodding once more, she remained silent as she held in her tears.

"Are you both alright?"

Turning towards the voice, they seen Temari stepping towards them, who was soon by their side - clutching her elbow as she was covered in scratches and dirt. Luckily, she was also safe from the meteor. Nodding at her, Nomasaki made eye contact with her – her eyes stern and concerned all at once.

"And you?" Gaara asked.

"Yes, but…" Temari replied, as she turned back to the dust filled aftermath behind her. "I can't say the same for the rest of the division."

"Nomasaki, can you sense any shinobi?" Gaara asked her, turning to her.

Jolting her slightly, she snapped out of her fear-ridden daze. "I-I'll try."

Standing on her feet, she formed a single hand-sign and closed her eyes – taking in every presence that lingered around her, focusing every fiber of her sense. When her eyes opened, she could feel the chakras of the few survivors – but her gaze indicated an unfortunate outcome. She turned to them, sorrow tinting her glance.

"There are survivors, but… we've lost many."

"Tsuchikage-sama!"

Turning towards the direction of the yell, the three Suna shinobi seen the old man surrounded by the remaining members of the division – his garb tattered and face bloodied. Within moments, they were there at Ōnoki's side with Naruto close by.

"He's alive, but he's badly injured." An Iwagakure ninja told them, as they attempted to heal his wounds with their medical ninjutsu. Out cold, the old man lay unresponsive and covered in blood – his mouth gaped open in his unconscious state.

Suddenly, Nomasaki's senses shook through her, whipping her head towards the direction of the rumbling strength that approached. "Something big is coming…!" She stammered, her eyes wide with fear, promptly alerting Gaara and Naruto.

"It's them!" The Iwa ninja shouted. "At four o'clock!"

Violently, a large mass of trees and vines were headed directly towards them, ripping apart the earth with ferocious force as it approached closer - Deep Forest Emergence: the First Hokage's jutsu. As they looked ahead beyond the sweeping trees, they could see the silhouette of Madara standing directly before them. Without a moment to spare, Naruto formed the hand-sign for his Shadow Clone jutsu. Suddenly, hundreds of clones wielding Rasengans headed directly for Madara's attack to counter its force.

"Giant Rasengan Barrage Line!"

Within moments, Naruto's assault successfully ended the enemy's attack – halting the growth of the encroaching forest. Exhausted and panting, he fell to his knees. - _Damn it… I used up all of the chakra the nine-tails gave me all at once…!_ \- He thought to himself, frustratedly.

Surprising the young shinobi, the elderly Tsuchikage slowly lifted himself up off the ground - ready to face the enemy once more. "Naruto, enough." He said. sternly. "I'll take over from here!"

"Tsuchikage-sama!" Temari stammered. "You're in the same-!"

"I finally have a chance at reclaiming myself! I'll fight him!"

"That's crazy! You're in no shape to do it!"

Suddenly, the decaying husks of Madara and the Second Tsuchikage leapt towards them, with a particle-release attack ready to strike from the enemy's forces. Within the blink of an eye before the jutsu could release, the Fifth Hokage and Fourth Raikage appeared - knocking Madara and the Second Tsuchikage away from the division with their powerful physical counters. Moments later, the Fifth Mizukage joined them – appearing within a cloud of smoke from the use of the Flying Thunder God, along with help from the two Konoha ninja. Standing together, all Five Kage were assembled on the battlefield - ready to put an end to Madara once and for all.

"Gaara!" Temari shouted.

From the sound of her voice, he turned towards her with a stoic and serious expression. "Temari, you and Nomasaki have to get out of here!" He ordered. "Join the rest of the alliance and we'll regroup when we're finished."

"Right!" She nodded.

As he glanced towards Nomasaki, he could sense the fear she hid behind her strange colored eyes – still visibly shaken by the amount of chakra around them. He could see it painted all over her face. "Nomasaki, stick close with Temari. Help her with the remaining wind-release shinobi. Use your sensory abilities to find the alliance."

Trying to hide her fear, she nodded. "Understood." Turning to Temari, she swallowed her emotions, holding onto strength. "Temari-senpai?"

"You don't have to call me that! We're the same rank, now!" Temari shouted, focused on the task at hand - her emerald eyes signifying urgency. Giving a nod, she readied herself. "Ready when you are, Nomasaki!"

"R-Right!"

Holding on to courage, Nomasaki's eyes held a determined glance. As she could feel Gaara's glance lingering onto her as she stood behind him, her fangs began to grow in size within her mouth. Closing her eyes, her face became similar to that of a wolf-like humanoid while her nose resembled that of a canine. Opening her eyes, they were slit like a predator. Turning her body away from the Five Kage, hoping the young Kazekage would not see her ghastly appearance.

"Temari, follow me quickly!"

Within an instant, she felt her muscles contract, pain tingling across her body from her recent wounds. Snarling, she transformed into her wolf form, her white fur swaying with the winds. Within moments, the wolf with the feral lilac eyes leapt from the battlefield, leading Temari and the survivors away from the Five Kage.

On their way to join the remaining Allied Forces…


	33. A Plea

**Chapter 33  
** **A Plea**

* * *

Nightfall quickly approached…

During the battle against the ten-tails, all the wind-release shinobi across the five hidden villages performed a powerful jutsu - commanded and led by Temari. Before the menacing monster, Nomasaki released the attack along with the numerous others, the powerful strike of unrelenting winds slamming against the monster. Pained, it wailed a bloodcurdling shriek, its tails whipping behind it as the earth echoed its turmoil.

"Direct hit!"

"Watch out! It's coming straight for us!"

Luckily, after the valiant efforts of the shinobi alliance, the ten-tails was restrained.

To everyone's shock, it started shooting wood-release projectiles towards them, impaling hundreds of comrades and shinobi upon the ravaged battlefield. Blood ran against the dark earth, soaking the land with the crimson that leaked from their misshapen and branching forms. Cries of agony soon danced along the cold winds from the sea, with those surviving struggling to escape the path of death that was hot on their heels. It was a pure bloodbath.

Reunited with her father when the troops combined, Nomasaki fought alongside him as they retreated with the others. The waves of attack from the ten-tails kept coming, slashing through the shinobi beside them while they scaled the towering broken cliffs of fallen rock. A shot of the sprawling projectiles came again from the beast, and they were directly in its path. Weaving hand-signs as quickly as she could, Nomasaki frantically cast a wind-release jutsu to counter the approaching threat. Striking the attack in a slice of wind, the wood burst as if into a hundred pieces, each of them impaling the cold earth before her stance.

And they kept on.

Kyo leapt through the air and cut down the projectiles down left and right with his swordsmanship, slicing through them like butter while they planned their retreat with the others ahead. The power of the beast suddenly became too great to bear. The monster grew restless, uncoordinated, and angry. The burgeoning eye of ringed-horror blinked rapidly as it lurched back. Within a breath of its massive jaws, the spears of wood shot towards the hordes of fleeing shinobi in greater speed. After slashing oncoming attacks, one entered his blind-spot, stabbing directly through his leg - bursting.

"Argh!"

"Dad!"

In a plume of red and a breathless scream, his leg was shattered. Bones were broken, muscle torn, and blood everywhere.

Gnashing his teeth, he fell to the ground below with a thud, his bloodied leg shaking as the wood expanded into great thorns on the other side of the wound. Running towards him with panicked eyes, Nomasaki formed hand-signs, sending an impervious wind-release jutsu towards the oncoming wood-release attacks - destroying them within moments. Quickly, she knelt down beside him, her knees scraping against the ground.

"Stop moving it!" She said, holding in tears as she watched him struggle. "You'll only bleed more!"

"Ugh... The pain is - unimaginable -!" He grunted, holding back his yells in pain. "I'm still shocked I survived..."

Quickly, a medical-nin took notice from the fleeing troops and approached them. In a matter of seconds, they were healing his wound. With Nomasaki's help to restrain him, the medic-nin pulled out the projectile as a choked scream trembled through her father's lungs. Flinging the bloodied thorns aside, his wound was finally closing.

Frustrated, the medical-nin's eyes narrowed. "This war… It's unbelievable!" He uttered. "The scale of our enemy's attacks… they're non-human!"

Concerned, she acknowledged the medical-nin's words. Two days in, the war was already incomparable to past sufferings. The loss of life difficult to ignore as it routinely echoed through her senses. She entered the war a kunoichi afraid of death, and sat that night a kunoichi who knew nothing but the presence of death. Death was all that surrounded them. She narrowly escaped death herself if not for Hanone - or her father. War was unlike any horror she knew before. Not event the loss of Yama could compare or the vileness of Kenzō and his threats. It was pure nightmare.

"I've stopped the bleeding. But it's best not to engage any more with your injury."

Kyo nodded to him, watching the medical-nin depart to heal the other causalities lost in the crossfire. "Thank you."

Turning to his daughter's widened glance on the remaining alliance that continued to rebel against the massive monster before them, he could see the fear within her eyes. She felt all the chakra around them - living or dead - and she was stricken with the burden of its awareness. Feigning a coy smile, he looked down, closing his dulled hazel eyes.

"Go on and join the others. Leave me here. You're young and you've got plenty of fight left…"

Her eyes widening, she whipped her head towards him. "Of course not!" She barked. "I'm not leaving you!"

Smiling warmly at her response, he glanced down at his injury. "I see. You're brave… and extremely kind. That's… admirable."

"Stop talking!" She cried, closing her eyes tightly as she averted her gaze - her voice being cut by oncoming sobs as she tried to mask her emotions. "You're hurt!" Standing up, she reached out to him. "We're leaving alive… together!"

Meeting her gaze, he could see the tears building up in her gleaming violet eyes. She held back her sobs as best as she could. She was certainly brave, he thought to himself. Closing his eyes as he looked down, he nodded. Once on her feet, she helped him stand up - allowing him to balance his injured leg as he walked.

"I've only just reunited with you…" She said. "There's no way I'm leaving you behind!"

He laughed to himself under his breath. "I guess I have no choice, then." He nodded. "Alright, lead the way."

Proudly - although weakened and hazy-minded from his blood-loss, he smiled at his daughter. Her glance was locked on the path ahead, her gaze unwavering and her expression strong. A shinobi. Noticing her strength and determination as she eyed the horizon, he had to admit that she was braver than she hoped. He heart ached for the years he missed - and for his late wife of the mountains.

Together, they made their way to rejoin the rest of the alliance while the battle progressed before their eyes.

* * *

Hours passed since the ten-tails assault on the Allied Forces…

In the rubble of the previous battles between the enemy, Nomasaki and her father continued onwards towards the direction of the moving forces. As she walked at a steady and slow pace, she held her father up on his worsening limp, his arm around her shoulder while they trudged through the rocks and craters beneath them. Nightfall was continuing to plague the landscape, along with the eerie red glow of the moon above.

"I was thinking…" Kyo spoke, as he walked alongside his daughter with his limp. A small smile appeared on his worn features, his tired eyes closing halfway in exhaustion. "Maybe when this is all over… I can help rebuild Yama… to atone for my abandonment."

Glancing at him, a sad glint flickered in her eyes. She could tell he was serious, judging by how fixated his gaze was onto the horizon – he truly meant it, every word. "It's not your cross to bear." She said, focusing on the task at hand. "Yama exists in the past, we should focus on the present."

While she walked on, her eyes narrowed as she remembered her homeland, a far cry from the desolate wasteland they trekked through that night. Deep down, she hoped Yama would once again exist in the world – but that would be an impossible dream. Suddenly, a strong and familiar presence jolted her from behind, freezing her in her steps from the feel. Looking up, she seen the silhouette of five clouds of sand heading directly towards the direction of the alliance in great speed.

"Nomasaki!"

Turning, she seen Gaara plunging towards her, leaping from his platform of sand to the ground below. "Gaara!" As he lifted himself up from his crouch, he noticed the strange orange-haired man alongside her, glaring at him suspiciously. "It's alright!" She assured him, as she saw him prepare his arm to summon his sand. "This is my father!"

Stunned at her words, his eyes widened as his sand retreated back to his gourd. "Your father?" He asked, as he calmed his stance.

"We met on the battlefield, during the Edō Tensei." She explained with a nod, quietly, as she turned to his limp from the ten-tails. "He's… injured."

Wincing, Kyo bowed his head in shame. "Please forgive my sorry state, Kazekage-sama."

While Gaara turned to her and examined their surroundings, his gaze became calm yet stern. Something was off, triggering is curiosity - someone was noticeably absent from his view, their loud and abrasive presence nowhere to be seen or heard. "Where's Hanone?" He asked. "Did you summon him?"

Her eyes widening greatly from his question, her memory jolted. With a sudden sadness in memory of their battle, she averted her gaze as she could feel her tears swelling up silently. Closing her eyes, she turned away, with Kyo sharing the moment of grief in empathy. Sensing their emotions, he understood what was conveyed without words – the wolf was gone. Despite his disdain for Hanone, he admitted to himself that he would miss his snide remarks and presence.

" …I see. I'm sorry…" Stepping closer towards her, his eyes narrowed in a stern nature. "Nomasaki," His voice catching her attention, she looked up to meet his gaze. "I need you to guide me to the tailed-beasts. I need to find Shukaku."

"S-Shukaku?!" She stammered, shocked. "What on earth for?!"

"I have a plan to seal Madara," He replied, his gaze serious and urgent. "But I'll need his help. Can you find him with your sensory skills?"

Swallowing her fear for the tailed-beast's chakra, she nodded in agreement. "I can try," Realizing the man who was beside her, she turned to him in concern – his current state unable to fend for himself. "But-! I can't leave my father-!"

"Go on ahead, Nomasaki." Kyo interrupted, a faint smile visible. Surprised, she tried to utter words but he gave her a stern glance of determination. "I'll wait for you here. They need you… go help our Kazekage!"

Her eyes glistening in held pride, she nodded. As she helped her father sit upon the ravaged earth below, she walked closer to Gaara – pausing as she formed a hand-sign and closed her eyes. Taking in all the remnants of chakra that lingered around her, she tightened her closed eyes – focusing her energy on the large masses of chakra that protruded through her senses farther within the holds of the surrounding wastelands.

Nothing.

She pushed herself further - still nothing.

Tightening her closed eyes, she plead internally for her boiling blood to find the tanuki. Flashing through her memory, she remembered the first day she had as Gaara's assistant. The darkness of the cavern echoed through her with its black walls, rippling water, and the enormous chakra that dwelled within. Shukaku's presence looming over her was as fresh in her memories as was the stench of death that carried on the winds.

 _Focus, focus, focus_ \- she told herself - _find him!_

It all came back to her. The signature of the tanuki's chakra filled her senses from that cavern, dancing along the winds by a faint grasp of luck. Jolting, she opened her eyes at the feel of the menacing dense chakra she feared – the tanuki's presence faintly beating kilometers from where they stood. She found the beast at last. For once, she was relieved by its presence.

"I… I can sense Shukaku's chakra! Far north of here!"

Summoning a cushion of sand for them, he stepped upon it, kneeling in preparation as she approached. "Hang on," He spoke, glancing to her. "I'll be going at full speed!"

As she knelt beside him on the platform of sand, she touched his hand that lay upon the sand beneath their feet as if instinctually – jolting them both from the feel. Realizing her movement, she withdrew her soft grasp, averting her gaze in slight embarrassment as he watched with a surprised glance.

"Oh," She stammered. "S-Sorry."

Submitting, he nodded once in acknowledgment, looking upon the horizon with stern and narrowed ringed-eyes. "Brace yourself!"

As the sand lifted from the ground, they departed in a brisk path of sand-ridden winds – dashing through the skies at an alarmingly fast pace. As the winds whipped her long gold hair against her face, she could feel the fear of heights swell up into her chest. Without a second thought, she lightly clutched his arm that was held beside her while they sat knelt on the sands – looking down at the devasted battlefield with calm eyes that contained hidden fright. Noticing her touch, he glanced to her for a moment, comforted by her gesture. Turning back to the path ahead in the darkened red sky, he narrowed his eyes into a serious glare.

Time was running out…

* * *

Within moments, she could sense the tailed-beasts close by as they approached with his sand. "There!" She exclaimed, pointing down towards them. Promptly, Gaara directed the sands to the massive beasts below, floating as close to Shukaku as he could. As they approached, the one-tail turned to them – locking eyes with the young Kazekage and his trembling assistant.

"Hm?" Shukaku scoffed, examining the sight before him. "So, you're here."

"Shukaku," Gaara started, urgently. "I need you to lend me your power to seal Madara."

"You mean the Desert Layered Imperial Funeral Seal?"

"Yes, a large one."

As his large tail with purple-markings swung behind him, he leaned closer to his former host – his monstrous eye glaring at him. "Now that I'm not bound to a jinchuriki anymore… why should I listen to what you have to say?"

"I didn't order you…" Gaara retorted, sternly. "I asked you for a favor." Stone-faced, he turned, glancing at the other tailed-beasts that stood around them on the battlefield. "If you won't help, I'll ask another tailed-beast-,"

Taken aback by his words, Shukaku turned to him – his monstrous sand-covered pupils analyzing his motives internally. "Uzumaki Naruto… I see you became friends with that fox-boy, Gaara…"

"If you won't help me, we can talk later." Gaara finished, moving his arm forward to direct the sand away from the one-tail. "I'm going-,"

"Hmph! The way you talk gets on my nerves!" Shukaku roared, blocking his path with his massive paw. "If the fox can transform seven times, the tanuki can transform eight times! I'm not about to lose to that stupid fox!" Turning to his former tailed-beast, a small smile appeared on Gaara's lips. Noticing his expression, Shukaku guffawed at the former jinchuriki in a nearly embarrassed demeanor. "Mind you, I didn't accept your request! I just decided to do this on my own! Show me the way!"

Turning to his assistant beside him, he gave her a calm glance. "Nomasaki," He started. "Where to now?"

Noticing her frightened eyes locked onto the tailed-beast, he followed her gaze. Deep within her senses, she could still feel the density of Shukaku's chakra and its undying bloodlust – not to mention the power and strength of the other tailed-beasts that stood silently around them. Its hatred towards her trembled her from its unspeakable power, memories of her accidental intrusion into its realm still fresh in her recollections. Watching her guarded eyes, he was painfully reminded of the wounds he inflicted upon her when he was still a jinchuriki. He could not help but feel somewhat responsible for her fear towards the tanuki.

"It's alright," He assured. "He's an ally."

"Keh!" Shukaku scoffed at them, drawing their attention to the beast. "Foxes are bad enough… wolves are a different story!" Leaning in closer to her, the one-tail sneered in her direction – sensing her contained nervousness. "I never did quite like you, wolf-girl! Do I frighten you?"

"Yes," She spoke, looking up to the beast as she struggled to talk past her fear – her exterior calm as her chest tightened with anxiety. "I'll admit that." Flickering her eyes, she shot him a stern glance. "However, if you're willing to help us, I have no gripes. Your chakra is also hard for me to tune out… despite you being a tanuki."

Rearing back slightly, Shukaku let out a gnashed grunt in distaste – annoyed by her choice of words. Upon seeing their interaction, Gaara smiled lightly to himself – glad to see his assistant grow past her fear of the tailed-beast's chakra. Sensing the intimidating and threatening presence of the lingering Uchiha on the winds, she gestured ahead of them.

"This way!"

"Wait!"

Pausing on the sands, they turned to the direction of the loud and booming voice – Son Goku, the four-tailed beast. The towering and muscled primate of the earthy lands dotted with volcanoes and hot springs, his fangs and bright red fur sticking out to them as his thundering approach came to a calming pause.

"We're helping, too!" Son called the two humans. "Don't worry, we're not doing this on a whim. We want to help Naruto."

A grateful smile on his surprised expression, Gaara nodded. "Thank you."

Leaning towards them, Son peered deep into the young Kazekage's pupil-less turquoise eyes – examining his inner character. "Shinobi of the Sand… are you an acquaintance of Naruto?"

Sternly, he nodded. "Yes," He spoke, glancing back at the tailed-beast with a serious tint to his eyes. "He's my first friend."

Softly, Nomasaki smiled at his response as she sat knelt beside him – knowing of his devotion to protect his friend at this crucial time. Even in their early days of working beside another, she knew of the love and friendship he held towards that Konoha ninja. She could sense it, too. Naruto was indeed a hopeful person, although a brash and unpredictable one at that. Even in her scarce interactions with the Hero of Konoha, she could feel the ease and hope Naruto gave people. It helped her form her courage to find Gaara in the Land of Rivers - and now they were going to return the favor.

"Of course," Son nodded, turning in the direction of Madara. "Let's hurry!"

"Nomasaki," Gaara started, turning to her with a stern glance.

"Right!" She nodded, prepared to guide them further across the barren wastelands of death.

Swiftly, they journeyed through the expanse of crater-filled desert – the tailed beasts following close behind. As she sat close to Gaara's side, she could feel all the chakra around her. Away from the tailed-beasts that followed them, she sensed the chakra of her comrades on the winds. Kiri, Konoha, Iwa, Kumo, and Suna - their numbers dwindled and dying. Worriedly, she scanned the far west. On the cold winds, she felt the chakra of Meiyumi and Shinto, still alive in the heat of battle. The winds eased her. Striking her heart, her eyes widened as she could no longer sense the chakra of her past sensei Hashira. She had felt his chakra earlier at the start of the war, but no essence of his strength remained on the winds. She lost two, her guardian and sensei. She began to wonder who she would lose next. Panicked, sorrow etched its way onto her expression her heart wrenching as she clutched the sands tighter.

Noticing her strife, Gaara gave her a concerned glance. "What do you sense?"

"Death," She forced herself to speak, her glance unmoving, locked towards the Allied Forces. "It's all death..."

Understanding what the sheen of her eyes conveyed to him, he turned back towards their path on the winds. She was right. Darkness crept over the battlefield, the faint hum of the living still clinging to what little hope remained.

* * *

As the night continued…

While Madara stood idly on the battlefield, each tailed-beast had its chance to strike the vile Uchiha with as much force as they could offer – sending him flailing in the air with each successive hit. Preparing for the sealing formula with Shukaku, Gaara stretched out his arms – viewing Madara's movements through his positioned palms. As his heartbeat jolted through him, he dropped his arms, panting from exertion – small beads of sweat dotting his pale forehead as he glared ahead at the enemy.

"My chakra…!" He spat through his grit teeth. "It hasn't fully recovered…!"

"I'll help!" Nomasaki proclaimed, looking at him with a serious yet determined glance in her eyes. Surprising him, he turned to her. "I'll lend you my strength, or at least what I have left!"

She had a different look to her eyes. Courage. Turning back to the enemy's direction as he sensed her stand up and walk behind him, he looked down for a moment – closing his eyes with a small smirk on his lips. "You're taking your role as my assistant seriously today."

Carefully, she placed her hands firmly on his shoulders, grasping the thick material of his flak jacket. "We're at war!" She shouted, as the winds picked up around them. "After all, I promised to support you no matter what… I'm not skipping out on my promise!"

Humbled, he opened his eyes. "Thank you." He smiled to himself, preparing to once again attempt the jutsu formula with his hands.

Suddenly, as he formed the hand-sign, she felt the immense power of the technique rip through her – sucking out her strength at a remarkable rate. Wincing with a rallying yell, her grip on his shoulders tightened as her chakra poured into him, looking down with eyes tightly closed to fend off the pain. As Madara slammed into Shukaku's trap of sand, Gaara positioned his palms to form the closing of the seal.

"Now, Shukaku!" He shouted, watching the beast engulf their resilient foe in a tomb of sand. "Desert Layered Imperial Funeral Seal!"

Suddenly, a massive pyramid of sand rose from the tomb that encased the Uchiha, formed from Shukaku's cursed-seals and sands – the sealing tags soon activating after the final seal was called. Silence echoed across the battlefield while the winds drifted through the barren landscape. Wide-eyed, Nomasaki stood, staring at the mausoleum in the distance – unable to sense their enemy's chakra further.

"Did it… work?"

Shocked, they witnessed the eerie blue glow of Madara's Susano'o burst through the pyramid with ease – emerging from the sand sarcophagus with towering might. As the skirmish continued, the mountainous Gedo Statue was summoned to the battlefield, absorbing each and every tailed-beast back into its prison – taking Naruto's nine-tailed beast with it – Kurama. Lifeless, Naruto fell from the sky unconscious – his heartbeat ringing through his eardrums with a final thud.

"Naruto!" Gaara yelled, shocked at the sight. Quickly, he rose his hand towards him – commanding his sand in his direction. Carefully, the sand cushioned his impact as he descended. Turning to his assistant who sat wide-eyed and stunned at the outcome, his ringed-eyes indicated upmost urgency. "I have to save him!"

Concerned, her lilac eyes glistened as she met his gaze. "Gaara-!"

"My Sand Clone will take you back to your father," He said, reached out to the sands beside them, creating a masquerade of himself from the grains. Slowly, the platform they sat on broke apart, with his clone standing beside her. "Take cover with the rest of the alliance!"

She nodded and kept silent, understanding the severity of the situation. Within an instant, they departed on their separate paths – with the end of the night nowhere in sight.

* * *

As war continued…

That night, the war took a dire turn. In a gleam of bright red light across the lands, the Infinite Dream was realized – the Infinite Tsukuyomi was activated, its eerie red glow encompassing the entire world in a shroud of shadows. As she stood by her injured father's side, Nomasaki could feel a sinister chakra rip through her, grasping her with evil intent - burning through her veins and freezing her in her stance. Trembling, she felt the sudden urge to look at the night sky against her will.

"Nomasaki," Her father began, stammering. "I can't move!"

Struggling, her eyes moved to see if Gaara's Sand Clone was alright. Shockingly, it suddenly disappeared with a sweeping wind from the moon - something was definitely wrong. Gulping, she swallowed her fear, knowing that death was imminent, and the chakra she felt proved it. Slowly, she looked up into the sky by the force exerted upon her. At that moment, her now ringed-eyes were drawn to it - locked. Before them in the brightened sky as the cocoon of the great tree wrapped around where they stood, the red moon echoed its desires.

The Infinite Tsukuyomi...

* * *

 _Deep within in her mind, her dream became her reality - her ultimate dream…_

 _Through the eyes of the genjutsu, Nomasaki lived a happy life within in an unharmed Yamagakure no Sato - within the mountains she loved so much. Covered in snow and in silver, the village was prosperous and content, with her clan proud and revered in the village. Alongside her as she walked through the snowy village path and holding her hand, her lover glanced down at her, smiling adoringly at her presence – Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage. Watching in awe from the porch of her family home, her mother and father stood - together like they were supposed to be. Overwhelmed with happiness of their only child and daughter's engagement to a powerful shinobi, they talked in private about the future wedding plans, with Hanone keeping careful guard with his watchful eyes over the family that dwelled within the mountain village. Nothing could destroy the warmth and comfort she felt within her heart._

 _Through the eyes of the infinite dream, she did not want to wake up…_


	34. Farewell (Part II End)

**Chapter 34  
** **Farewell**

* * *

 _Everything in her vision was white..._

 _The snow continued to fall from the sky in her dream, her mind completely mesmerized by the falling snowflakes and the frigid winds that swayed against her. The warmth of her lover's hand kept her warm, while her heart fluttered with content. Her love, her wolf, her parents - everything had fallen into its right place. But then she remembered - this was no reality. As the winds turned harsh, her lover's hand that she held close turned into grains of sand, disappearing into the winds as all around her was coated in a blanket of frosted white. No one could hear her call for their names, not even a howl dared to sound against the winds._

 _Her dream was just that - a dream..._

* * *

"Nomasaki!"

Slowly, Nomasaki's vision emerged once more from the whiteness of her mind, the infinite dream finally coming to an end. The warmth of the living suddenly returned to her, embracing her in its sunlight as she felt her muscle heave with energy once more. To her surprise, she awoke from her cocoon of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the veil of the jutsu falling off her body as she regained her movement.

"Are you alright?"

Focusing her eyes, she seen Kyo looking over her, a smile of relief on his fatherly face. "Dad…" She spoke, her voice exhausted. "It's you..."

Slowly, she sat up from her position, her body feeling as if all of her energy was suddenly drained. Surprising her, the sun was beaming and bright and the battlefield was quiet – the air around them filled with the voices of relieved ninja.

"What happened?" She asked, as she scanned the area with tired and fuzzy eyes. "Where am I?"

All around them, there were ninja waking up from the strange cocoons, greeting their comrades with hugs and cheers, and the occasional sob of relief – happiness and peace echoing around them. Suddenly, her senses jolted as she could begin to sense chakra through her fuzzy mind.

"I… I can't sense the enemy or ten-tails! What's going on?"

"It appears the enemy was defeated," Kyo explained, glancing at the relieved ninja. "The jutsu was released by Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke of Konoha. They saved the shinobi world! Well, according to the sweeping intel." As he looked around themselves in the battlefield, he seen something that surprised him. Relieved, Kyo smiled as they approached. "Kazekage-sama! Good to see you unharmed."

His greeting shocked her. Rubbing her eyes, she looked up to towards where her father was smiling – feeling the familiar warm chakra approach closer, her senses still foggy due to her current state. When her vision cleared, she seen him – gazing down at her with ringed-eyes that held concern, grief, and joy – the emotions conveyed by his relieved expression.

"Gaara!" She stammered, surprised to see him so close. "You're alright-,"

Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him with his eyes closed tightly – relieved to see his assistant unharmed and alive. Surprising her greatly, her lilac eyes widened from his careful embrace.

"I'm glad you're safe…" He spoke, quietly, his face near buried by her gold hair. "I was worried about you…"

Smiling gently, she placed her hand on his shoulder, closing her eyes as she could feel tears of joy breaking through – remembering the same words she spoke to him as he awoke from his resurrection nearly two years ago. Unlike the hold of fierce protectiveness he gave her that night of the meteor, his hold on her that day was careful and soothing. His chakra was warm and enveloping, comforting even. Her senses took all of him in, accepting his calming presence.

"As was I with you…" She said, softly.

Fondly, her father watched them, smiling warmly as he witnessed the young Kazekage help her stand up with his sand – the grains gingerly lifting her up from the husk of her cocoon. Intently and with wide surprised eyes, the two gazed at each other with faint blushing evident on their cheeks from the close eye contact, both of them silent as the sand receded. Could they be falling for each other after all this time? Relieved, Kyo looked on at the two before him.

- _My daughter and the Kazekage, eh…?_ \- He thought. – _The world really is unpredictable…_ -

A flicker of nervousness appeared in Gaara's eyes as he met her flustered expression. To him, she seemed alright but she was covered in a film of dirt, dried blood was etched below her lips, and her forehead protector was scratched with its indents gleaming in the sun. War had certainly been cruel to both of them. Even as he stood straight, his legs pained with each breath and his ribs ached from battle. Being in the catatonic state from the genjutsu was no help either, the world seemingly sluggish around them.

"Can you stand?" He asked. "Are you... alright?"

"Yeah," She nodded, brushing aside her fluster. "I... think so." Examining herself, she looked over the back of her pants, straightened out her flak jacket and looked up to him with a relieved smile. "Well, one thing is for certain - your assistant survived the war. Now I just want to go home and take a hot bath."

Seeing her smile put him at ease. The war was indeed over with the enemy defeated, with the red hue over the moon no longer echoing its daunting presence in the skies. Returning back to Sunagakure was the first thing on his mind as well - only he wanted to sleep for as long time would permit.

"Kazekage-sama!"

Interrupting their daze, a shinobi clothed in the garbs of Sunagakure appeared before them, an expression of relieved urgency painted on their face. Interrupting their shared moment of relief, Gaara turned to him with his expression marked in his familiar sternness. "What do you have to report?" He asked. "Anything of Uchiha Madara and the ten-tails?"

Nodding, the Sand ninja nodded, kneeling before his stance. "We confirmed that Uchiha Madara was defeated," He explained. "And the tailed-beasts returned to their original states!"

Surprising them both, their eyes widened from the report. The beasts were free. Shukaku was free, all of them. As she focused her mind to sense the beasts' chakra while she formed a hand-sign, she could faintly feel Shukaku's presence from afar – its dense chakra not too far off from where they stood. Pondering to herself, a thought crossed her mind. Jolting her eyes open, she stood stunned.

"That means… Gaara-!" Turning to him, her glance became urgent yet relieved at the same time. "Shukaku is…-!"

With a serious glance, he nodded to her words. "I know."

With the war finally over, Gaara pondered the thoughts that remained in his occupied mind – Shukaku the one-tailed beast. Thinking about the choice of becoming a jinchuriki once more, there was something he had to decide when he returned to Suna…

* * *

About one month after the end of the Fourth Shinobi War…

Peace was flourishing within the five great villages, with discussions relating to the war's outcome consuming much of the time of the Five Kage. One early morning, as she sat clothed in her baggy pajamas with her long gold hair wisping her forehead in its messy state, her father decided to pay her a visit at her tiny apartment. Since the war, his wound has healed but unfortunately had permanent damage – rendering him unable to participate in missions as a shinobi of Suna, leaving him with a permanent limp in his step. A retired shinobi in his mid forties, Kyo took his injury with pride. He fought the war and he lived - being able to live old enough to see his daughter was all he wanted. As they sat across from each other at the small wooden table, they shared their lives with another – asking questions in efforts to catch up over the time they lost.

"So, the tracking unit is temporarily on hiatus since the war?"

Nodding, she picked up rice with her chopsticks. "For now, at least." She replied, eating her breakfast in small bites. "I'm currently debating if I can continue through the ranks."

"Well, you should." He smiled, clasping onto his tea before him. "You're very bright, and not just saying that because you're my daughter." Chuckling, she smiled to herself as she continued to finish her breakfast. Turning to the window beside them, he gazed at the gleaming sun that shone through the sand-tinted glass. "I rose through the ranks after the last war, the Third Shinobi War. I met you mother, and... well, you know the rest."

"Not really," She mused. "What did you do after you returned? Did your superiors know you had a family in Yamagakure?"

Kyo's glance through the window grew saddened, his eyes narrowing. "A councillor knew - Kenzō was his name. I don't know how he knew, but he was certainly unforgiving." He said. "When I returned to Sunagakure, I was ordered to embark on a fifteen-year mission to the wastes of the west as punishment for my desertion. Kazekage-sama, the Fourth at the time... he was merciful and shortened it to ten years. From then on, I was on escort missions being that the Fourth valued my swordsmanship. That being said, I was hardly in Suna before the war began." He looked back to his daughter, noticing the unease in her eyes. "Something wrong?"

"Kenzō," She replied, her eyes stern. "He was the man who made me spy on Gaara-sama. He threatened to kill me if I didn't comply..." Averting her glance to the table, her eyes saddened. "He... also used you as leverage against me. He said if I completed my mission, he would find you for me."

"Is that so?" Kyo snorted. "That bastard, at least he's locked behind bars for the rat he is. I never liked that man, not even in my youth."

Comforted, she smiled at him from the cover of her rice bowl. Everything worked out, she thought - she was relieved of her spying, she and Gaara were closer than ever, and she had a father. For the first time since she was a child living in the mountains with her mother, her life felt whole again. Hanone's loss still pained her every day, his final act of devouring his late master burned forever in her memory. It would be an insult to forget, she thought, he died a true guardian - protecting her until the very end.

"So... what will you do now?" She asked, quietly. "You're retired now, do you have any plans?"

"Well," He started with a sigh. "I have all the time in the world to do what I feel is right... and atone for the things I've done." Curiously, she raised a brow at him as he gave her a smile. "You know, if you chose not to continue with the Suna ranks… you can return to Yamagakure."

Flinching, her chopsticks paused on her bowl of rice – the mention of her birthplace and village jolting her. During the war, he mentioned his dream to rebuild Yama to its former glory – but had he truly meant it, after all? Surprised, she glanced at him with her lilac eyes wide in curiosity.

"Y-Yamagakure? What do you mean?" She stammered. "The village was destroyed -,"

"Well," He began. "We've recently got confirmation that there are survivors from that raid five years ago, so we're assembling a squad to help rebuild - with Kazekage-sama's permission of course. We also received permission from not just our daimyo in the Land of Wind, but the daimyo of the Land of Mountains as well. It appears they have their capital back in order following the war, with the new daimyo just being coronated."

"Oh, that's incredible!" She responded, surprised and intrigued. "How long will this be going on?"

"Not sure. Could be a few weeks, could be a few months, could be permanent…" Glancing down at his crossed arms against his chest, he gave a small smile of relief. "I've also gotten word that there are Yamamori descendants up there… After the war, some of the scattered clansmen returned to the mountains, which I find is astonishing."

Her lilac eyes widened greatly from his words – her clan was alive. For most of her young life, she thought she was the only one remaining of her people, but Hanone's long-held suspicions were finally confirmed – there were others like her – wolves.

"The clansmen - my clan?" She pressed. "The Yamamori? There are others?"

He nodded. "It was amazing, to say the least. From their words, hearing of a young woman riding on the back of a wolf into battle... their hopes swelled. From the north, the south, the east, the west - even as far as the Land of Frost - the Yamamori returned to the Land of Mountains at last." He smiled to her. "I can't help but think the ' _young woman riding a wolf into battle_ ' was you."

Warmed, she looked down upon her lap. "I can't believe it," She said. "I'm not the last one! I could feel it... That's such a relief."

"I figured I'd bring it up to you to see if you were interested." He finished. "We could really use you up there. It would help us solidify a relationship with your people and Yama like never before. I'm sure Kazekage-sama would give you permission to go as you wish, but then again he needs you too, huh?"

For a moment, she pondered to herself – wondering if she should take the risk and return to her long-awaited homeland in the north. As she thought more of it, she could feel the ache within her for the frost and the snow – she pined for the cold endlessly as she was surrounded by the striking warmth of the desert's grasp. Looking down at her lap, her eyes narrowed in slight sadness.

"That all sounds highly interesting, but," She replied. "I…-," Catching her sadness, she smiled up at him – masking her hidden grief for her mountains in the north. "Things have changed. Suna is my home now, and I want to… start a life here."

"Is it the Kazekage?" He asked, giving a light smile as he became curious. "Gaara?"

Jolting her and catching her off guard, she became flustered, her cheeks reddening from the accusation. "N-No! W-Well, I…-" She stammered. "It's, b-because I-!"

"No need," He chuckled. "I understand. You're young and you want to figure things out." Standing up, he gave her a smile. "I should be on my way. There's lots to prepare for before we set out to the Land of Mountains." As Nomasaki saw him to the door of her apartment, he turned to her sorrow-tinted expression, smiling to cheer her up. "If you ever decide to visit, you can whenever you like."

Gently, she smiled and nodded – her fingers lightly grazing the doorframe as he stood outside. "Of course."

Once more, she and her father departed from one another – only now without the need for forgiveness. Catching her attention, she sensed a presence nearby. Turning towards its direction, her eyes narrowed slightly - the tracking unit.

Closing the door as she retreated from the daylight.

* * *

Clad in her wolfish mask and the flak jacket of Suna, Nomasaki stood before her superior in the confines of the tracking unit's meeting chamber.

Scarce droplets from the piping above dripped upon the clay floor, intruding the silence between the shinobi who stood across from another. Facing her with his arms crossed against his chest, the towering presence of Commander Moro eyed her porcelain mask with his eyes narrowed at its red markings that swirling around its snarling expression.

"As I'm sure you're aware," He began. "Kenzō's request that you be tried as well for treason has fell through. Kazekage-sama granted you a full pardon, clearing you of any wrong-doing. Your efforts in the war have also helped your case, and the council permits your freedom. Right now, Kenzō is rotting in his cell for the crimes he's committed and all his men are being questioned and detained as well." His stern expression eased. "We of the Sunagakure Tracking Unit have our reputation scarred, but the council has agreed to allow us to exist so long as we work alongside the ANBU and heed to Kazekage's commands."

"I see." She replied. "That's... a relief."

Silence enveloped the room after she spoke.

At long last, her worst fear was quelled. Kenzō could no longer harm her or Gaara - they were untouchable.

Never again would she have to sleep with a kunai under her pillow in the fears of Kenzō's masked men arriving to put her out of her misery. The pardon was no surprise to her. Since he discovered her spying, Gaara had been quieter than usual around her, but overall he was no different towards her as far as his treatment of her was concerned. If anything, he brought it upon himself to be closer to her. He had a protective nature to his gestures, and she admired him for that. During the war, she felt him hold her close for the first time - the memory of his warm chakra and strong arms still fresh in her senses. From the glint of his ringed-eyes, she could see the care he had for her as she gazed into them - and she hoped he could see that as well while gazing into hers. They became more than just their bond - and grew closer than either could have imagined.

She loved him - and she was afraid that he would find out.

He was the Kazekage of her village, her superior who was instrumental in ending the horrid war against the Akatsuki and their army of resurrected husks - and he was her friend above all else. If she were to reveal to him her true feelings - or if he found out - things would never be the same. Would he return her affections? She was certain he had no clue what that meant. He knew the love of friendship, but the love of another in the romantic way was something she was unsure he was aware. Deep in the depths of her heart, she feared she would only receive a broken heart and a fractured friendship with the person she cared for most.

She did not want to risk it.

Bringing herself to face her commander, she stepped forward. Pausing before a brief sliver of light, her wolfish mask gleamed in the faint sunlight. Its snarl evoked the stern expression she wished to convey - but her fragile heart could hardly muster a frown. She felt emotionally spent and exhausted, and her low-toned voice proved it.

"If I can make a request, Moro-sama..." Kneeling before her commander's slate-like permanent scowl, she looked down upon the clay floor at her feet. Her glance was mired in guilt, her lilac eyes closed halfway in her shame. "I would like to join the ranks of the tracking unit full-time."

Her request struck his curiosity. Narrowing his eyes at her mask's silent snarling, Moro looked upon her - examining her flak jacket and black clothing as she sat knelt in the broken darkness, near concealed by the shadows and just as silent.

"You're the Kazekage's assistant," He replied. "If you were full-time in our unit, you would not be able to fulfill your duties he's assigned you. Unless you recently changed your mind?"

Her glance saddening towards the floor, she nodded. "I have."

"When are you relieved of your duties?"

"Tomorrow."

"Does _he_ know?"

"No... he doesn't." She spoke, her voice low. Raising her head, she met his questioning gaze. "Not yet, at least. I will be breaking the news to him soon."

Mulling over his options, Moro closed his eyes and sighed to himself. Before him sat the former obsession of his associate Kenzō the Dissident, her mask shapened to that of the wolf she truly was. She was just as silent, like a ghost among the white skies of the desert while she carried out her duties. Her sensory skills were of great importance, with her clan's name once more being spoken of across the lands from the aide she gave the Kazekage during the great war that recently ended with a conclusion of peace. The outsider was a truly naturalized citizen - and a seasoned kunoichi with experience on the front lines. She was different than the moment he first met her, he thought - she seemed stronger in her gaze and unafraid of the world around her. He knew what he was going to answer.

"Very well," He nodded, a light smile etched upon his scowling face of scars. "You are to meet with me at sunrise, we journey to the Demon Desert at dawn."

"Yes, sir." She bowed her head, gratefully. "Thank you... for this..."

* * *

As noon approached, Nomasaki made her way towards the village exit, walking through the bustling streets as she eyed the valley cliffs in the distance.

Dressed in her blue kimono, she continued down the plaza while she prepared herself to say goodbye to her father. She was astounded to hear that he managed to gather a host of over fifty able-bodied men, all of them shinobi young and retired, merchants, cooks, smiths, and civilians. She was almost tempted to go herself. While she passed by a dumpling shop, she could feel the familiar and warm chakra she was drawn to nearby where she stood. Close by, the young Kazekage and his siblings sat at a table within the street-side restaurant, conversing with one another. Keeping on her path and trying to focus on her goal, she continued towards the village exit in silence.

"Ah, Nomasaki!" Noticing her walk past, Kankuro waved his hand towards her. "You're not working today, are you? Come join us!"

Pausing from his voice, she stepped towards them, a light smile on her porcelain face. "Oh," She searched for words. As she met eyes with Gaara, who sat silently with his siblings, she timidly averted her glance. "Um… I would, but… I'm actually on my way to see off my father. He's leaving to help rebuild Yamagakure."

"N-No kidding," Kankuro uttered, surprised. "Really? That's incredible! You're not going?"

"Kankuro-!" Temari hushed, bumping his elbow with hers – knowing it was a sensitive subject. "Don't -,"

Lightly, she smiled at them – her eyes tinted with prepared sorrow. "I… should be on my way. Maybe next time?"

With a subtle bow of her gold head, she continued on her path. It had been nearly her entire lifetime since she last had a father, and four years since she fled her homeland in the far north. Even as she walked the streets heavy with heat, her bones felt as if they were melting. At least it was tolerable. Four years of training to be a kunoichi of the desert lands had hardened her for the blistering sun, but her pale skin still burnt if she was not too careful. The sand in her blood was scarce, but at least she could make peace with it.

As she walked off down the village street, she could feel Gaara's chakra behind her – pausing behind her. "Wait, Nomasaki."

"G-Gaara," She turned, slightly surprised. As she looked at his stance, she noticed his eyes retained a hint of pleading and emptiness. "Is this about the forms from the Allied Forces I gave you yesterday?"

He shook his head of messy crimson. "No, it's not that…" He said, looking down. "I need to... ask you something."

"What is it?" She asked, curiously. "Is it for the council?"

"There's something I need to do…" He spoke, averting his glance. Even from a distance, she could see that his eyes were closed halfway in hidden sorrow. "I… don't want to this alone…" Looking up to her, he gave her a calm expression, masking his previously exposed sorrow. "As my assistant, can I ask you to do this with me?"

From his words, her memory jolted – she knew what he was talking about. It had been nearly a month since the war ended - and nearly a month since Shukaku had returned to their village. Lurking outside within the vast sands, the beast dwelled beyond the outskirts near the discarded and buried statues of their decaying desert gods. The coppers and golds in the statues were long since gone, but they acted as a sigil of survival - the halfway point between life and death. Although no longer a force of fear in her heart, the villagers who remembered its bloodlust kept their distance. She felt nothing but empathy for him and his decision.

"Of course," She nodded, smiling lightly. "On the condition that I do this as your friend, not as your assistant."

Lightly, he smiled at her response – humbled. "Deal." Realizing the error of his ways, his expression turned saddened. "About your dad - I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner about Yama. I assumed you knew -,"

"Don't worry about it," She assured. "I considered it, to tell you the truth... but I feel I'll be happier if I stay here. This is my home." Before she could walk off, her steps paused in the sands as she thought carefully about her words. Eyeing him gratefully, she could not help but feel horrible and guilty as she said the words. "I have to thank you... for pardoning me." She feigned a soft smile. "I'll see you later, Kazekage-sama."

Disappearing into the crowds ahead, Gaara watched longingly as her blue figure vanished amongst the hundreds pooling at the gates. His palm held behind his back, he tightened his grip upon the flower he made with his sands. It was made carefully, the grains etched into near perfect detail of a rose he saw at the gardens of his estate. He wondered if she liked flowers. Hoping to gather the courage to give it to her, he then understood his flawed timing.

With a squeeze, the desert flower returned to the sands of his hand, disappearing with a breeze of the warm winds at his back.

* * *

The departure of her father was bittersweet, tinged with pride and longing.

His worn and strong arms held her close as they locked for a final hold, while hers were somber and thin. She noticed a courageous sheen to his hazel eyes as he said his goodbyes to her, eagerness as well. The others who joined him were all good men and women, she was told. She was relieved they would be with him. Although he could walk on his own with the help of his wooden cane, Kyo could no longer hold a sword to battle. As a retired shinobi nearing his late forties, combat would hopefully be seldom seen in his case - especially being that the war was finished. Watching him depart into the yellow sands was the hard part. Managing to keep her spirits up at the gates, everything hit her at once the moment she saw the cloak of his back and his greying orange hair swaying in the winds that afternoon. No one seen her shed her scarce tears, her pride and hope lifting her pain.

She would see him again, she reminded herself, she would someday.

Leaving the gates, she started on her path through the sands to the east. Feeling the wind against her as she moved, she traded in her human form for the shape of the beast with white fur. Bounding across the dunes, the wolf darted against the sands free to go wherever it wanted. Kenzō and his men were behind bars, the war was over, and she was a free shinobi. The north was calling, but so was another. Picking up the scent of his chakra, she felt the hot sands against her paws as she dashed in a burst of white. There were no wolves in the desert, but she still persisted nonetheless.

She was the ' _Wolf of the Desert_ ', after all.

The silhouette of a decaying statue passed her by as if a shadow. It was near completely swallowed by the sands, its fingers grasping outward while only the crown of its head was visible. The gold and red had long eroded away from the winds of times, leaving only a faint glimmer of the past. The desert was a harsh and cruel place, even to the gods of the desert it seemed. Coming to a slow, the wolf trotted along the top of the dune above, taking in the chakra that lay below.

Hearing her approach, Gaara turned to see the wolf's violet eyes greet him. "You've made it," He said. "I take it you've seen off your father?"

Within a swift wind, the wolf reverted back into the human form it knew. Her gold hair whipped against her face as she stood beside him, the sleeves of her blue kimono fluttering at her sides. "Yeah," She nodded, her face etched with a smile tinged in hurt. "It's a long journey north, but I have faith in him. He's a good man."

"Thank you... for doing this."

"It's the least I can do for all the trouble I've caused you these past few months," She smiled. "I was going to ask, why meet out in the middle of the desert -?"

Sensing Gaara's silence, she felt herself search for a question until she was interrupted by a powerful chakra drawing near. Out of the sands before them, the giant tanuki of sand billowed above the dunes and took shape. Purple inscriptions twisted and bulged until its limbs and head were defined and cut, its large belly protruding out of the sands before them as its single tail painted in swirls of violet whipped behind slowly. Frozen as she stood, Nomasaki eyed the tanuki with eyes gone wide as its monstrous chakra erupted through her senses. Even now, its strength chilled her to the core.

"Shukaku," Gaara began, stepping towards it calm-faced. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Keh!" The tanuki jeered. "It's been nearly a month, runt! You humans take so long in your squabbling... So tell me - have you decided?"

Nomasaki turned to Gaara beside her. It was a question she also wanted to ask him herself. If he was going to become a jinchuriki again. For weeks following the war's end, the Suna Council and the village elders mulled over the question for nights on end. Such a decision had to be handled carefully above all else. The times may have become peaceful, but there was no telling when the other villages would show a hunger for power and use the tailed-beasts as a weapon once more. It was a horrible thought - but still a scant possibility.

Gaara stayed silent during the discourse, listening to all arguments. She often found herself listening in to these meetings, standing behind Gaara's seat on the council while his brother argued with Zarō and the other elders. Nights became long and drawn into the morning, resulting in her sleeping on the job on some nights. When she would wake on the couch in his office, she would often find herself covered in a blanket of some sort. Either him or not, she appreciated the gesture. She said to him once that the only good thing that came with his insomnia was his ability to stay awake during such meetings. He stayed silent, as if he had not even heard her speak in the first place. Worried she struck a nerve, she took it upon herself to distance from him. He had nothing but torment for weeks. The question weighed heavy on his shoulders, but ultimately it was decided it would be his decision. Having been born with the beast sealed inside him, it would only seem fitting for him to decide his fate for himself.

"We've been separated well over two years," Gaara began. "And you are no longer a target by the Akatsuki, or our village." Intently, Shukaku looked down at the humans who stood beneath him - towering over them. Looking at the beast in a sympathetic nature, Gaara's eyes conveyed nothing but good will. "I'm willing to become your jinchuriki once again but… I also respect and value your freedom as a tailed-beast."

"Well, runt… you really have grown." Shukaku smirked, whipping his tail behind him. "It's bold of you to allow me to return to the desert… it almost makes me teary!" Grinning, he leaned in towards them – exerting its usual incoherent yet threatening gaze. "As much as I want to destroy Suna for the torture they made me endure over the years, I appreciate what you've decided."

Holding his arm towards the beast, Gaara locked eyes with it – his expression stoic. "Shukaku… as the Fifth Kazekage, I promise you that Suna will no longer use you for jinchuriki!" He proclaimed. "You're free." Amicably, a small smile formed on his lips as he looked up to the beast – as if to signify fondness. "If we should cross paths once more, we will no longer be enemies… but friends."

Acknowledging his words in silence, Shukaku gazed at his former jinchuriki, observing his friendly gesture – thinking of the progress they have made together over the years. Turning his monstrous eyes to Nomasaki, it sensed her fear and trembling that plagued her stare. Standing silent beside the young Kazekage, she was still caught off guard by the presence of his monstrous strength.

"And this one still shivers in my presence!" He pointed towards her in his rowdy nature, causing her to jolt from the accusation. "You! Wolf-girl… Lighten up!"

"He's no threat to you, Nomasaki." Gaara spoke, turning to her. "Rest assured, he's safe."

"I know, it's just…" She replied. Looking down at her feet for a moment - trying to brush off the fear still evident in her eyes. As she looked up to face the tailed-beast, her eyes slightly widened from the feel of its sinister chakra. Although an ally, its power was far beyond human. "Your chakra… it's so strong! I can't help but feel shaken."

Releasing a loud and bellowing laugh, Shukaku caused a sweeping gust to blow past them, blowing the desert air around them. "Now that's flattering!" He jeered. "You'd make one ninja quite happy with compliments like that!"

As if subliminal, the beast eyed Gaara in a hinting gesture. Curious from its glance, Gaara thought about its choice in words – perplexed by what it could have possibly meant. Briefly, he glanced at Nomasaki, then glanced back at Shukaku – unsure of what to make of the remark. In response, Shukaku smirked at him – mocking his emotional ignorance.

"Well, now," The beast began. "I should get going. It's been quite a while since I was able to call the desert my home… Nearly a thousand years!"

Slowly, it turned towards the desert horizon and began to walk in its blinding direction – hobbling its massive body towards the sands. Pausing, the beast glanced back at the two human who stood behind it – as if to say a final farewell.

"So long, Gaara… the Kazekage!"

With the sudden burst of the desert winds, the monstrous creature turned into a large mass of sand - becoming one with the desert. Seeping into the dune, the tailed-beast disappeared into the vast sands of the Land of Wind – Shukaku was finally free. As Gaara stood silently while he gazed into the desert horizon, his ringed turquoise eyes gleamed with sadness. Not only was Shukaku free of its burden, but so was he. Although extracted from him over two years ago, having closure with his former tailed-beast lifted a massive weight from his shoulders. Noticing his silence as they stood before the calm desert winds, Nomasaki turned to him, her gaze concerned and curious.

"Gaara?"

"I'm fine. It's just…" As she looked at him, her eyes closed halfway in shared empathy – sensing his emotional relief. Glancing at him, she could see the glistening of tears forming in his stoic eyes. "Times have definitely changed for the better…"

Gingerly, a light wind passed by them as they stood in the desert that afternoon, swaying his red hair of crimson, and hers of golden blonde. As the breeze flowed past them, she could feel a light stream of sand touch her hand ever so gently. Slightly surprised, she looked down, watching it carefully guide her hand to his. Softly, she intertwined her fingers with his, touched by his gesture of comfort. Knowing what tomorrow would bring, she hid her guilt behind her violet eyes - promising silently to share that moment with him for as long as she was able. She wanted nothing more than to hold his hand for as long as she could, but she knew in her heart that such a fate would be impossible. Guilt masked behind her soft expression, she decided she would let him know tomorrow.

Looking up to him, she saw his ringed tanuki-like eyes still locked on the horizon. Her eyes glistening with admiration, she felt her guilt-ridden heart swell with comfort. He may have been a jinchuriki, but he was by far the most understanding and caring person she knew. She could tell not just by his glance towards the sun, but through the warmth his hand gave her. It felt just as it did in her Infinite Dream - only it was real. Only then did she realize how small her hands were compared to his, her dainty fingers intertwined with his, callused and strong. Even from a simple hold, she could feel his desire to protect her.

Gently, she smiled to herself and followed his gaze as they held hands in silence - watching the desert sun together…

* * *

 _ **~ Part II End ~**_


	35. An Arrangement (Blank Period)

_**Author's note (2019/09/18):** Hey there, this next section will be the final section to this story. I originally wanted to follow the main arc of the series (i.e. following Part II) but I wanted to write something more original so I decided upon writing this Blank Period segment. I incorporated ~some~ elements of the canon (fanon?) into this segment of the story, and mostly put my own spin on the minor things I included from the original canon works. _

_This third and final segment of this story was my favorite one to write and I enjoyed it the most, so I hope you guys enjoy it. As I continued to revise this story and change elements, it went from a GaaOc pairing fic to an OC-centric fic with a GaaOC pairing that surpassed 100k words, so I'm pleased to say this is the final version of the fic I will post as I'm satisfied with the direction it took._

 _Thank you all for the support, encouragement, and criticism on both FFN and AO3!_

* * *

 **Sand and Snow**

* * *

 _ **~ Blank Period ~**_

* * *

 **Chapter 35  
** **An Arrangement**

* * *

Nearly two years passed since the aftermath of the Fourth Shinobi War…

Since the defeat of the Akatsuki and release of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the shinobi world was undergoing a vast change in its many nations and villages. Times were peaceful and filled with diplomacy for every village in the Five Nations, with even the smaller villages forming alliances and peace treaties with their neighboring adversaries. As the talks between the Five Kage continued over the course of two years, the relationship amongst the five villages was balanced and amicable for the first time in generations, with the relationship between Suna and Konoha becoming even stronger than it was before with the inauguration of Hatake Kakashi as the Sixth Hokage. Despite the long-awaited peace, suspicions still loomed of an impending and unseen threat amongst the Kage – the Ōtsutsuki clan of the moon, the legacy and bloodline of Princess Kaguya - the Rabbit Demon. On a mission of repentance for his sins, Uchiha Sasuke ventured across the lands to search of evidence of the clan's arrival, scouting far and wide and relaying each finding to the Five Kage. Despite their suspicions, there was no evidence to suggest such a fate.

After the war, Gaara's duties as Fifth Kazekage had surprisingly became even more demanding – the peaceful times calling for more inquiries to the village's economy and their relationship with the daimyo of the Land of Wind. In an unexpected turn on the day after the departure of Shukaku, his trusted assistant and friend willingly resigned from her position - instead choosing to join the ranks of Suna's tracker-nin full-time. Leaving behind only a notice of resignation on his desk, she did not have the nerve to face him directly as she reigned her responsibilities to the council.

" _Gaara: Thank you for allowing me to work as your assistant these past three years. I'm sorry, but I must leave you; I'm joining the tracking-unit full-time and as such, I can no longer work as your assistant. This decision was hard for me to reach, but I trust in your ability to find someone to replace me. I hope I can stay on good terms with you, as I feel nothing but positive things about you. I wish you well, and I hope we will see each other again soon. Your favorite assistant, Nomasaki."_

Further down on the note, she wrote a comment that made his heart near sink in his chest.

 _"PS: Remember to fill out your paperwork on time! I'm sure you'll remember; you are the Fifth Kazekage._ "

Even her parting words of hurt were comforting to him.

Not once had she held any doubt for him, and for that he was surely humbled.

Since that day after the war, they have not spoken to or even seen each other.

Not once.

The day he found the note on his desk was his loneliest day in years, so much so even his siblings took notice of his moping. Boring a void in his professional life and his personal life, his day-to-day routine consisted of constant work and insomnia – with no one able to fill her shoes as adequately as she did. Day in and day out, he worked tirelessly as the Kazekage with the occasional and gracious help from his brother-turned-bodyguard Kankuro. Unknown to himself, Nomasaki's sudden departure had him torn deep inside and his siblings could see it plainly from his blank ringed-eyes.

Protection, admiration, and love.

The depth of his feelings for her were unwavering.

It became so obvious that Kankuro decided to take matters into his own hands as any 'good brother' would do. One night, the puppeteer persuaded the stoic-faced Kage to go on a nightly stroll through the village's far northern end. When Gaara realized he was being lured into the village's notorious red-light district, he was met with an urging glance from his doting sibling. The Kazekage did not hesitate to turn back and go home. Temari even offered her sisterly advice on learning how to speak to women. He declined.

It was hopeless.

As he turned twenty years of age that arriving winter, he was beginning to gain a new perspective on his village, his purpose, and his relationships with others. However, on how to act, he was still unsure.

And his heart was still preoccupied.

* * *

In the early hours of the morning that late winter...

Sitting on the porch step of the dimly lit Kazekage family's living quarters, Temari sat putting her sandals on, preparing herself for yet another mission in the Land of Fire - her large battle fan strapped to her back with a bag of supplies in tow. "I'll be back in about a week or so," She spoke, standing up. "That Land of Silence incident really shook things up in Konoha." Turning to her siblings who stood behind her, she gave a light smile. "Being that I'm the Sand Ambassador, I should arrive promptly for the discussions."

"Yeah," Kankuro sighed. "You do that." As he stood leaning against the wall, he smirked at her - looking at her in the eyes with an almost prying glance. Suspicious, almost, but in the most sibling-like way possible.

Sensing her brother's glance, she awkwardly jolted for a moment. "W-What are you looking at me like that for? What's your deal?"

"So... what is it with you and that Nara guy, huh? Are you planning on seeing him or…-?"

"What?!" She gasped, her eyes wide in shock and face blushing. "N-No, of course not! Why would I do that?!"

"Because you always seem to hang with him in some way or another. Are you two meeting up when you arrive in Ko-"

"You ask too many questions!" As her face continued to turn red, she abruptly turned away and started for the door. Her feet stomping on the floor's tiles. "I'm leaving now!" With a thunder, the door slammed shut behind her, rattling the plates and picture frames along the walls of the living space.

"Sheesh…" Kankuro chuckled, smiling. "Since that mission, she's been so touchy... Don't you think, Gaara?"

Stepping out from the shadow of the hallway, the young Kazekage walked to his brother's side. "Only when you seem to ask her about that." He replied. "Why do you press her so much?"

Jolting, Kankuro whipped his head to him. His expression both flustered and embarrassed. "H-Hey, I'm allowed to pry!" He retorted. "I'm just a concerned brother, that's all!" Suddenly, he remembered something important – jogging his foggy memory that early morning and snapping him out from his guilty-ridden daze. "Ah, that reminds me!" Making his way towards his puppet chamber, he paused for a moment, turning to his younger brother with a smile. "The puppet corps needs me on an assignment for the next few days. You'll be fine without a bodyguard, right?" Realizing his words, he scratched his messy head of brown hair. "Who am I kidding... you're Gaara of the Sand Waterfall! A bodyguard is obviously not required, unless you're leaving the village for anything."

"I haven't been called that in years," Gaara responded. "But I guess old nicknames die hard, don't they?" The last time he was called that was long ago, before he became the Kazekage of Suna. When he was still a jinchuriki. "But to answer your question, I will be staying in the village while you're gone. So there's no need to worry, since the Five Kage discussions are on a pause currently."

"Ah," Kankuro nodded. "That's convenient, then! I should head out soon, so I can get a head-start on the mission." Gathering up his things, he paused yet again. "Hey, Gaara,"

"What is it?"

Turning towards him, an expression of slight sympathy and concern appeared on Kankuro's face. "Maybe... do something for yourself for a change?" He suggested, scratching his head. "Maybe try to socialize with others instead of being cooped up in your office all day?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Kankuro sighed. "Since the war ended, you've been buried in your work. I know being the Kazekage is a lot of responsibility, but maybe try to relax a little?"

"Kankuro -,"

In a brief moment, Kankuro disappeared into the confines of his puppet chamber, not hearing his younger sibling's call - assembling his weapons in preparation for his next assignment. Paused in curiosity to his request and unsure of how to respond, the Kazekage was alone for the time being in the confines of his home.

* * *

The village streets were as loud as ever that morning.

Before departing to the Land of Fire, Temari stopped by the tea shop before the village cliffs. If her luck could have any claim, she found herself meeting up with a friend she has not seen since the war. Sitting across from her at the table was Nomasaki – clothed in a blue and white dress that resembled a causal kimono with short sleeves of mesh armor. At nearly age twenty, she grew into a fair young woman with shining gold hair that near reached her waist, while her light purple eyes still appeared strange to those around her. Temari noticed a stronger glint of confidence to her eyes, as strange as they were to her.

Despite her ascendance into womanhood, Nomasaki refrained from escaping from her shield of meek modesty, choosing to stay dedicated to the shinobi lifestyle and keeping to herself. As she was rising through the ranks as a tracker-nin, she hardly had any time to herself, with most of her free time consisting of staying in her tiny apartment - only to leave for necessities such as groceries or household things. Crippled with the anxiety of facing Gaara, she rarely spoke to Temari despite their friendship and mutual respect, their respective lives as kunoichi destined to different paths.

As she sat before Temari at the tea shop, she clasped her warm beverage with her hands as she timidly listened to her assertive and proud friend – admiring her courage and leadership as she spoke. "I'm not saying he's a bad person or anything," Temari continued. "But he can be difficult to read at times."

"Oh, right." Nomasaki nodded, timidly glancing at her from across the table. "Maybe it'll be a bad idea if I approach him about it, then?"

"That's not the case either," Temari turned, closing her eyes as she placed her hand under her chin. "If you're going to tell him why you left your job as his assistant you have to come clean! Tell Gaara how you feel but be very clear about it, or else it'll go right over his head. He was actually pretty upset when you left, you know. I never seen him so down before." As she peeked towards her, she could see her friend's averted and blushing glance in silence – sensing the dozens of nervous thoughts floating inside her head. Smirking, she turned to her. "You still… have feelings for him, don't you?"

Jolting in her seat, Nomasaki propped her head up, holding her trembling palm towards her lips – her cheeks reddening tremendously. "T-Temari…! Not so loud…!" She whispered, nervously. "H-He could be anywhere…! His sand...-!"

"Judging by your blushing I'd take it as a 'yes'," Temari sighed to herself, looking down with closed eyes at her crossed arms. Meeting her stunned gaze, she gave a light smile, her green eyes gleaming in the faint daylight that danced through the yawning above them. "It's alright. He may be my brother, but honestly… you're the only one I could really trust with him. You're level-headed and understand him, and you don't treat him like some sort of celebrity…" Gesturing to the gushing voices towards the village plaza, she let out a subtle disgusted groan as she pointed in their direction. "Like them, at least."

Following her gesture, Nomasaki turned behind where she sat towards the plaza. Crowded around the storefront of a merchant, a large group of young girls ranging from civilian, to genin, and chunin-level status squealed in unison – their faces red and frantic.

"I saw him! I saw him! I could only catch a glimpse of his red hair, but I saw him!"

"Kazekage-sama is so hot! He's too handsome to stay single for so long!"

"Our village hero!"

As she listening to their praises, she frowned slightly – examining their fluster and desire for his affections. For the duration of her time as his assistant, she often would witness clusters of his fans crowd along the mansion's gates – resulting in her asking them to leave him alone if he needed to leave his residence. Gazing at them, she felt a lump in her chest. Since the war, she avoided all interaction with him due to the realization of her love for the young Kazekage – she had not yet revealed her feelings to him, and it tore her to think of approaching him.

Turning away, she looked down, her eyes closed halfway in sorrow. "But…" She started, quietly. "Should I… really tell him? I mean, I haven't spoken to him since after the war ended… and that was almost two years ago…-,"

"Nomasaki, you just have to take the chance." Temari replied, her eyes narrowed in her usual brashness. "If it's bothering you that much, just telling him should be enough!" Crossing her arms over her chest, she closed her eyes as she nodded in lecture. "But remember, he's bad at reading emotions. He can be totally clueless to this stuff, despite his cool exterior. Sometimes it doesn't translate well, so you have to…-",

Unaware of her friend's glances, Nomasaki could sense a familiar presence nearby to where they sat – their chakra signalling a message. Soon enough, a brown hawk began circling above on the high winds. The tracking unit was calling for her.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

"O-Oh, sorry." Nomasaki jolted, smiling in embarrassment to her friend's dismayed expression. "I think the tracking unit is sending for me, actually." As they stood up and started for the streets, she gave her a friendly glance. "When will you be back in Suna?"

"Hopefully soon," Temari sighed. "The ambassador role really is getting hectic lately." Turning to her as they began on separate paths, she smiled back. "I'll see you around."

Nodding, Nomasaki smiled lightly as she gave a small wave in the village streets. "Yeah. Bye, Temari."

As she watched her distant friend depart to the village's exit, she calmed herself. Turning towards the direction of chakra she sensed with stern eyes, prepared to answer the call. Above, the hawk cried against the smooth winds, making her wonder why she would be summoned on her odd day off.

Only time would tell.

* * *

"With that being said, recent events dictate that you would be heading to Konoha to discuss this matter."

As Gaara sat in on a routine meeting with the Suna Council, he listening to the grunting and conversation among the councilmen. Much to his dismay, his siblings were both absent for an indefinite amount of time. Sitting silently in his chair, he looked on at the senior advisor with stern eyes – gathering his planned responses in his mind.

"What say you, Kazekage-sama?"

"It seems somewhat sudden," Gaara replied, his ringed-eyes slightly narrowed. "At the moment I am without a bodyguard, as Kankuro is on an assignment with the puppet corps… and Temari is…-,"

"…suspected to be in Konoha with a man from the Nara clan. Something the council is not entirely fond of…"

Turning to the direction of the retort, a councilman with a greying beard made eye contact with the young Kazekage – their shared glance turning into a subtle glare. "Kazekage-sama, are you aware of the history of your clan?"

"What of it?"

"The Kazekage clan was one of the great noble families of the Land of Wind… leading the people to settle in this land that is now Sunagakure. Your great-great grandfather Reto saw to this and became the First Kazekage. Because of our village's isolation and lack of resources, keeping the Kazekage bloodline pure over generations secures the future and stability of the village… as to contain the line of succession, one of the clan must take on the position of Kazekage." Giving a smug smirk under his beard, the councilman chuckled briefly under his breath. "That's essentially why the Suna Council selected you at your young age, Gaara-sama." Remaining silent, Gaara glared at him from across the table. "You must know what I'm getting at, aren't you?"

"Not at all."

"Gaara-sama, it's time that you picked a wife."

As the air fell silent, gasps quickly filled the room from the listening councilmen to the elder's words. Surprised by the advisor's request, Gaara's eyes widened – utterly shocked by the command. Not once had he ever considered marriage in his lifetime, or even being with someone romantically. To him, marriage was something he never deemed a concern – so why was he being pushing into a corner? Stunned and wide-eyed, he struggled to process a response.

"A wife?" He stammered.

"The Hoki family is eager to marry their eldest heiress to one of the Kazekage clan." The advisor explained. "Being that you're the Kazekage, it's upmost priority that you wed and produce a heir to the Kazekage bloodline. Since your clan is lost within the sands of the desert, the Hoki family is the best option. They are closely related to your people and are one of the few surviving noble families of the Land of Wind. Surely, the heir you produce will reign as the Sixth Kazekage."

Shielding his shock, Gaara glared at him in retaliation. "If I refuse?"

"That simply won't happen. We've arranged a marriage already for you with the eldest daughter." The advisor countered. "When you return from this meeting in Konoha, you will meet your future bride and be married in the gardens."

Standing up from his seat, grasping to leadership in the argument, Gaara stood before the council still visibly shaken and emotionally blank – anxiety and frustration making a forefront in his mind. "Do I at least have a say in the matter?"

"Should you find a suitable bride elsewhere, we may reconsider… but the future of your bloodline is sealed."

"What's more," Another elder chimed in. "If Temari-sama and that man of the Nara clan from Konoha were to become married and produced a child, that child would be next in line of succession for the position of Kazekage... being that the child would be the only descendant of their generation of the Kazekage clan." His glance troubled, Gaara's eyes widened slightly as he watched the elder speak. "This marriage is not only to ensure the production of a direct heir, but also to ensure the survival of Suna for future generations." Making eye contact with the troubled young leader, the elder narrowed his aged eyes towards him - locking their gazes between each other. "Gaara-sama, regardless of if you accept this arrangement... it is crucial to Suna that you wed for the sake of your clan."

Beside the elder, a councilman sighed – flipping through papers in his clipboard. "Moving on from domestic issues… Kazekage-sama, you will be accompanied to Konoha by Yamamori Nomasaki of the tracking unit, as her sensory abilities are of upmost importance. She will serve as a stand-in to Kankuro-sama's bodyguard duties for the time being until you return."

Gaara eyes widened from the name, surprised and somewhat nervous of the mention. Since her resignation at the end of the war, they last spoke to each other when they said goodbye to Shukaku in the desert – as they held hands standing side by side while the winds caressed them. Deep down in his heart, he knew his feelings never changed over the last two years despite her absence.

"Nomasaki…?!" He stammered, gathering himself.

"Hm? What's this?" A councilman rose a brow. "Did you have someone else in mind, Kazekage-sama?"

"Surely we can find a suitable substitute for Kankuro-sama," Another added. "Due to her previous employment as your assistant you wish for someone more... dedicated?" Rifling through a small stack of papers, they began scanning for more possible candidates. "Perhaps someone from the ANBU can possibly be-"

"N-No," Gaara interrupted, feeling the embarrassment from his stammering of her name. Closing his eyes, he rose his palm, only slightly. "Nomasaki would be fine, I trust in the recommendation of the council. I apologize for my initial reaction."

Sensing the discomfort in the room, the councilmen exchanged curious and suspicious glances with another, while Baki sat analyzing the young Kazekage's composure from afar. Were they questioning Gaara's response? Or was it something else?

"Until you return, this meeting is adjourned."

* * *

Noon.

The young Kazekage approached the rendezvous point near the village's stone wall as silent and as still as a shadow, appearing from his sands in a breeze of wind. In the distance of the desert heat, he could see a figure with gold hair standing before the exit. It was her. As he drew closer, he was somewhat eager to see her again, but also dreading it at the same time - there was no telling what might happen. Swallowing his pride, he continued with a stoic and emotionless gaze – putting all anxiety aside for the sake of the mission at hand.

Sensing his strong chakra approaching, she gathered herself – nervously glancing around to pass the time. She felt guilty for resigning her post as his assistant, but also for not keeping in touch since leaving - had he grown to despise her? Keeping her thoughts to herself, she was going to approach the mission positively, hoping that it would resolve soon with no issue. Pondering about the words she exchanged with Temari earlier in the day, it seemed as though it was coincidental timing she would be paired with him for a week long assignment. When she turned to him, her eyes lit up in her friendly nature as she saw the attractive young man dressed in burgundy approach closer to where she idly waited for him.

"Gaara!" She spoke.

As she walked up to him, she paused, noticing he was taller than last time they met. Looking up at him, his new height dwarfed her petite figure, his crimson hair messy and unruly, and his gourd of sand was even smaller as it sat strapped to his side. As she glanced up at him, she noticed that his mysterious ringed-eyes looked at her the same - the familiar warmth and security she knew gazing back at her. To her, he had grown into a very handsome and wise young man.

"It's been a while," She greeted, keeping her composure as she could feel her chest flutter. "Nice to see you!"

"Nomasaki," He spoke. "I…-,"

As he stood before her, he noticed some changes in her as well. While he looked down at the petite young woman, he saw that her hair was longer than last time and wisped her forehead protector, her lilac eyes were brighter – their strangeness still holding the vibrance of spring. Despite being masked by her shinobi attire and Suna flak jacket, she was visibly more feminine in her figure – her short stature appearing more womanly to him than ever before. In his eyes, she was beautiful – flustered as he averted his glance slightly as he stood before her at the village exit.

"How… have you been?"

"How rude of you to not address our Kazekage with respect!"

Turning, a border patrol ninja shouted at her from his barrack along the cliffside above them. "It's 'Kazekage-sama'!"

Embarrassed, she chuckled to herself, lightly. "My apologies!" She acknowledged, turning to them as he scratched the back of her head nervously. "I'll… try to be more careful next time!" With a friendly yet serious glint to her eyes, she turned to the young Kazekage – a light smile painted on her lips. "Shall we… get going, then? Konoha will be at least two days on foot. We shouldn't be keeping the other Kage waiting."

Gaara nodded. "Yes, let's get this over with."

As she put on her tracker-nin mask, she braced herself for the journey – her mask's eerie snarling expression of a wolf gleaming from the desert sunlight that afternoon. "Since I'll be your escort on this mission, I want to let you know what my task is. I'll be shadowing you, keeping an eye out for assailants, and actively using my sensory abilities to scout approaching chakras." She turned to him, her wolfish mask snarling in his direction as he could see the faint glimmer of her lilac eyes. "I trust in your abilities wholeheartedly to protect yourself, but by order of the council I will be tagging along."

As he looked at her through her mask, he a felt sudden sadness swell up into his chest -remembering the council's words on how he had to marry a chosen bride when he returned. It was not what he wanted, nor was it what he expected. In his eyes as he walked alongside his bodyguard, it was bittersweet for them to be together on the mission.

Entering the vast sands of the Land of Wind's desert, they disappeared into a sandstorm mirage…


	36. Nightfall

**Notes:** Song recommendation / / "Stay Home" by American Football

* * *

 **Chapter 36  
** **Nightfall**

* * *

While the evening approached, the two Suna shinobi reached the border of the forested Land of Rivers.

It was a land that was wedged between the expanse of lifeless desert they called home, and the rich and fertile Land of Fire – Konoha becoming closer in their path. Although the journey to Konoha usually took three days thanks to the desert sands, using Gaara's sand abilities made the journey save a great amount of time and energy. By nightfall, the two made it to a small and lively village nestled within a bamboo forest – the neon lights of the aged signage signaling both a rest stop and a tourist trap. Prepared to make camp outside the village boundaries, the young Kazekage opted for a stay at the inn near its outskirts – surprising and slightly confusing his assigned bodyguard who silently followed his path. As he walked along the street side with his identity concealed by his white cloak, he glanced at the blinding signs above – wondering if they would be the same aesthetic as the casino oasis where he was to meet his arranged bride. With each sign he passed, the burgeoning reality of the council decision weighed heavier on his undecided shoulders while he secretly pined for his former assistant who watched over him.

The inn they reached appeared as if it were a small castle from the Warring States Era, its cobble walls gleaming in the moonlight as they entered. As his bodyguard disappeared within the shadows outside the regal inn, he reached the concierge to make arrangements for their brief stay.

"I believe there's been a mistake."

Dismayed with subtle confusion, the squinting inn keeper took a puff of her long cigarette. A small old woman with glasses, who was seemly ignoring his request – watching the young man place the room key on the desk before her.

"There's two of us," He explained, slightly embarrassed. "But… our room has only one bed. So, if you could…-,"

"You're a married couple, yes?"

Jolting from the question, he shook his head – averting his glance. "N… No-,"

"Well, a non-married couple running off together? For a romantic rendezvous?"

"No-,"

"What are you, then? Surely, you can't be siblings!"

"No… we're just…-!"

"Friends?" The innkeeper laughed. "Enjoy your stay… Next!"

Begrudgingly, Gaara took back his room key, both frustrated and flustered by the innkeeper's persistence.

* * *

Once inside the eloquent and simple room with tatami floors and a patio, he put his gourd of sand aside near the porch. Examining his darkened surroundings, Nomasaki was nowhere to be seen. Stepping out on the porch, he looked towards the pillar in the moonlit courtyard. Filled with vibrant flowering plants and small bamboo trees, the pond in its center reflected the crescent moon in utmost silence.

"You don't have to stand guard all night."

Swiftly, she appeared within a silhouette as the light wind blew past, her figure revealed to be standing alongside the pillar before the pond – the porcelain curves of her wolfish mask snarling at the winds. Effectively, she was indeed a well-decided replacement for Kankuro.

"I know, but…" She spoke. "The council ordered me to, I must follow my duties-"

"You need your sleep."

Taking off her mask, she turned to him and softly smiled – the familiarity of their past relationship sewing from the exchange. "Is that a direct order from the Kazekage himself?" Upon seeing him nod with a small and acknowledging smile visible on his lips, she looked down as she closed her eyes with a wolfish smirk, amused. "Well, there's no way I can object to that. Is there?"

Giving in to his request, she made her way inside their room. As she walked towards the sleeping area, she noticed the lone bed off to the side untouched. Startled by the sight of only one bed to sleep in, she felt herself flinch in panic. Noticing her reaction and standing awkwardly behind her was the Kazekage, his tanuki-like eyes closed and his arms crossed against his chest - hoping she would pay no mind to his similar discomfort.

"There's… only one bed?"

Averting his glance, he hid his previous embarrassment with a stoic expression. "You can have it."

"Oh… well, thank you." She nodded.

Taking off her shoes and headband, she unbuttoned her flak jacket and placed her items along the wall beside the bed. As she stepped towards the porch's open sliding doors, she sat on its step – lightly chuckling to herself for a moment.

"It's been quite a while since we last had a mission together, hasn't it?"

Seizing the opportunity to socialize with his estranged comrade, Gaara followed her to the porch and sat beside her – slightly startling her from his sudden closeness. Pulling a small bag of deer jerky from her pack, she gestured to him as she bit into a slice. A carnivore at all times - all he ever saw her eat was meat. The scent of the food was strong, averting his interest. He was more of a gizzard person, he thought.

"No, thank you." He politely declined. Following her gaze to the moon that night, he searched for ways to speak with her – taking any chance he could before the mission was over. "Have you… been to Yama since it was rebuilt?"

"Not yet," She sighed. "I've been very busy with my tracking, so I was unable to until now." Lightly, she smiled to herself. "My father says there are Yamamori up there, lots of them… All from different lands, too. My clan survived… I want to meet the others and learn about my people."

Turning to him as she sat close by on the wooden porch, she averted her glance slightly – becoming both curious and embarrassed. Taking the plunge, she decided to extend a hand to their previous closeness. Although he was still the Kazekage, nothing much else has changed about him, she assured herself.

"Forgive me for asking, but… are you from a clan? Or rather… are there clans in Suna? I haven't noticed since I emigrated, so I was always curious."

"There are four surviving noble families of Suna," He nodded, gazing down at his lap. "Rather than a clan system like other regions, the Land of Wind is comprised of various families. My family is one of them." His eyes closing halfway, he glanced up at the crescent moon. "I'm not sure if you were aware of this, but I hail from a 'clan', too."

Meeting his glance, she gave a timid smile. "It's the Kazekage clan, right? I remember the council speaking of it once before, but you've never spoke of it while I was your assistant."

After a shared gaze, he turned back to the moonlit gardens, searching his mind for answers of his scattered and mysterious people. "The clan… they are within the desert. Not much is known of them, aside from the fact that they founded Suna." Looking down at his lap, he gazed at his pale hands before him. "I carry a Kekkei Genkai… magnet-release… I keep it hidden as a last resort for my sand, so that's why I've never told you. They still exist somewhere, but… they are driven mad with mania, supposedly…"

"Mania?"

"Apparently there is an old saying in Suna that goes along the lines of 'the curse of mania'. My people suffered from it, so maybe that's why they live in isolation… to escape judgement. Who knows?"

"That's why… the Kazekage position is inherited, isn't it?"

"Yes," He nodded, with a brief sigh. "My great-great grandfather Reto was the First Kazekage… Then my father, Rasa of the Gold Dust… was the Fourth."

"I'm surprised I never figured it out, and I've been in Suna for how long? Seven years?"

"It's not exactly common knowledge, I would've told you but it never came up in conversation. You're also good at keeping secrets, so I would trust you."

Jolting slightly, she averted her glance, embarrassed for her past actions as an agent of the council. "O-Oh, yeah, right…"

Looking down at her lap, she thought to herself for a moment. Remembering when she first arrived in Sunagakure, she always thought it was odd that there were no other clans within the village - now she knew why. Reminiscing, she smiled to herself as she sat on the porch beside him. Placing her palm under her chin while she gazed out into the gardens, she chuckled lightly to herself.

"Now that I think about it, those boys who bullied me years ago said something about the clan system while they were insulting me," She remarked. "They called me an 'inbred'... The ignorance of the Suna culture certainly introduced itself to me back then."

"They were coming from a place of learned habit," He spoke. "Our lands never had much contact from the outside, so you were a rare exception."

"You stepped in and stopped them from hurting me," She sighed softly. "You used your sand. Do you remember?"

"They certainly didn't put up much of a fight," He nodded, the faint evidence of a smile evident on his lips. "At least they left you alone after that."

"If you hadn't shown up, I would've been able to scare them off myself."

"With your kekkei genkai?"

"Hmm... I wasn't able to control it as good back then since I wasn't fully used to it... but perhaps." As her gaze trailed towards the small pool of water within the moonlit gardens, she smiled to herself. "Something you may not know about my clan," Turning towards her, his eyes gave a curious glint. "My people have guarded the mountains since the age of the Sage of Six Paths. There's a legend my mom would tell me before I would go to sleep about the Sage trusting a wolf to protect the mountains where they lived for the other clans… The wolf had purple eyes like me, and they were said to look that way so that the mountain-folk would know who it was that was protecting them from the shadows."

Looking down at her lap, she smiled warmly to herself, remembering the kind and ever-loving presence of her mother. She missed her deeply. Refusing to acknowledge her memory from the war, she remembered her mother as the doting, caring, and kind-hearted woman who devoted her life to being her mother. Her soft hands that would pick her up when she fell, the soothing voice of comfort that would sing her to sleep, the soft white fur of her wolf form that kept her warm on cold winter nights - she was honored to have been her daughter.

"I used to hate the color of my eyes… But when I think of what my mother would tell me… I like to imagine that Suna sees me as protecting them."

Smiling to himself in empathy, the Kazekage took in her soft words of the legend. He always liked the color of her eyes, he thought - they were as vibrant as the lilacs of spring from the distant lands of the east. He wanted to gaze into them forever - he was certain. Catching himself dwelling on the aura of her eyes, he stopped himself from dwelling any further. What was coming over him, he thought to himself - confused by his direction of thought. Standing up on the porch, she gave a brief stretch of her arms and yawned, her pointed canines making an appearance as a light yawn escaped from her jaws.

"Well… I guess it's time to turn in for the night. It's late, and we have an early morning."

Her words caught his attention. Standing up as well, he gazed at her from the porch they stood upon - its sliding doors still open in the night. Unsure of what to say, he watched her from behind as she looked at the night sky from their room, placing her hand on the door frame.

"If I can ask you one thing,"

"Yes?"

Averting his glance from her, his ringed-eyes closed halfway in hidden sadness. "What did you want to ask me that time three years ago… that time before the war?"

Surprised, she jolted from the question, remembering it well in her memory. "Oh! That's right," She said, glancing to him. "Do you… still want to know what it was?" As she seen him nod once from her back, she returned her gaze towards him – turning her body in his direction. "Alright, well… What I wanted to ask was… When you look at me, what do you see?"

As the winds rose that night, the curtain of the doorway blew lightly before her ivory face. When it returned, his ringed-eyes widened at the sight. The young woman he knew since before he was Kazekage had the face of a wolf - a beast. Complete with pointed ears, nose, and fangs in its closed jaws, its expression was painted with a pleading human glance - her lilac eyes soft in the night but just as mesmerizing. Her appearance was not grotesque - but intriguing. In a strange way, it captivated him as the winds blew softly that night between them and the open porch doors.

"Do you see me as a wolf? Or… a human? That's what I wanted to ask you."

Stunned by her mysterious beauty, he stood silent. While the curtain flowed by her again and returned to the doorframe, her wolf features disappeared as if they were never there to begin with. Upon seeing his reaction, she averted her gaze from his in a timid and embarrassed nature.

"I… was always embarrassed to show you this…" She whispered. "I've known you for so long, and yet I still hid this from you." As her eyes grew saddened, she lightly chuckled to herself - masking her visible shame. "I'm… literally a wolf in sheep's clothing."

"…I see you." He finally spoke, no hesitation on his tone whatsoever.

Surprising her, she looked up to him, meeting his gaze of warmth and calm – causing her to feel a flutter in her chest. Slowly, he approached her and held her close - his arms softly holding her with upmost care and protective nature. While she stood silent, her eyes widened from his gesture. After two years of being apart, he still held affection for her. As he held her in his arms, he closed his eyes - thinking carefully of what to say while his heart pounded in anticipation of what to do next.

"Forgive me, but… I'm still learning how to properly express… how I feel."

"It's okay, I trust you." She said, gently, accepting his warmth as she returned the embrace. "You're the Kazekage, you have more important things to worry about."

"You're important to me." Surprising her from his words, he let go of her – his arms at his sides as he looked down at the tatami floor beneath them. "Nomasaki, during the war… I meant everything I said to you. I did."

Sympathetically, she gazed at him with glistening eyes, a small chuckle passed her lips as she gently smiled from his words. "I know, I… feel the same. But we should talk about this when we return to Suna. You're still my superior, after all."

Slightly surprised, her unexpected reply made him feel embarrassed, not realizing how weak his grasp was on certain emotions and expressing feelings with others. It was still evident he had a lot to learn. "You're right," He replied, averting his glance. "I'm… sorry."

As she walked past him, she felt a slide of sand sweep under her. Startling herself, she gasped as she noticed her plunge towards the tatami floor. Jolting him, he reacted by starting towards her falling body. Then, he felt his feet leave the floor as well. His own sand had plotted against him. He lost his footing suddenly, bewildering him as he felt the air brush past him.

"Kazekage-sama -?!"

With a thud muffled by the sands, Gaara caught Nomasaki before her back could hit the floor. Her eyes wide and cheeks flushed red, she saw the Kazekage towering over her, his hands pressed into the sands by her head. Their eyes boring into each other in that moment, hers saw nothing but the endless sea of turquoise while he became lost in the lilacs of spring. Realizing his position, he jolted over her. He froze, his ringed-eyes widened as a wave of red grew on his stunned expression.

"Nomasaki…-,"

They were mere breaths apart from another – the closest they have ever been.

She felt her heart pound inside her chest, realizing how close she was to her lips touching his. If he were to have been a second too late, she swore she would have melted into the sands below. There he was – a Kage, his height overwhelming hers as he locked his tanuki-like eyes with her. She could feel his chakra all around her in that moment, grasping her warmly from their closeness. His strength was frightening yet alluring all at once, exciting her in a way. As she looked into his eyes, she could not help but notice the vibrance to his shaggy crimson hair, the haunting kanji of 'love' marked above his eye, and the sharpness of his jawline. Her fluttering heart could not even begin to process such a fantasy, her dutiful mind telling her to ignore it. But she did not listen. She could not listen to reason. Her body and mind were frozen underneath him, unmoving. The tension between them had never been so intense before – for either of them. The silence made it unbearable.

He found himself thinking about her eyes again as he stared into them. The flecks of violet were so vibrant, near gravitating to him. Pooled behind where she lay on the sands was her golden hair - long, straight and silk-like. It appeared almost as golden as the desert sun itself. He noticed the soft features of her blushing porcelain face, her skin near as white as the snow from her mountain homeland. She had a sweet smell to her, woven into each strand her long hair. Catching him aback, he suddenly realized how beautiful she was. The feelings of desire he pushed back in his mind had suddenly taken the forefront of his thoughts.

He wanted her.

 _He loved her_.

Snapping out of his stunned daze, he lifted himself up.

"…Sorry."

Brushing the sands off his lap, he moved his palm towards her. Startling her, the sands at her back rose her from her position on the floor. Near stumbling on her feet, she fidgeted her footing and adjusted her shirt. Averting her flustered expression as she dusted off her lap, she hesitated to speak.

"I-It's alright. It was… my fault." She finally spoke, shyly meeting his eyes. "Gaara-sama. I... should've been looking to where I was going."

As if the night could not have gotten any more awkward, she saw it within her sights.

Before her in the brief glimmer of moonlight was the bed. It had exquisite sheets and pillows that made her yearn for a long-night's sleep. Knowing that it was the only bed in the room for the two of them, she felt her heart sputter in her chest again. As she made her way to the bed, she paused, glancing at the young Kazekage from the corner of her eye – her cheeks pink and her heart empathetic.

"You… can sleep in the bed with me, if you want. You can have the other side."

Surprised and flustered by her offer, he averted his glance. "I don't think I can." He answered, quietly. "My insomnia… I still struggle with it."

"Do you want me to stay up with you?"

"You need your sleep more than me. Go to sleep."

"Alright," She gave in, as she made her way into the blankets. Once she was comfortable, she turned the other way. "I just… feel bad for taking up this bed while you have to sit awake all night."

Hearing the sound of the sliding doors close by the porch, she sensed him approaching where she lay – surprising her as lay down on top of the blankets beside her. "If it's fine with you…" He began, slight nervousness on his voice. "I'll just… lay here, next to you. Is that… okay?"

Ready for sleep, she closed her eyes, smiling softly to herself at his actions. "Like I said before, I trust you."

With that being said, they shared the bed that night. Although Nomasaki slept soundly, Gaara's insomnia prevented him from catching his rest. That night, he thought about what was to happen when they returned home and how he felt about her.

He was at a loss…


	37. A Day in Konoha

**Chapter 37**  
 **A Day in Konoha**

* * *

Making excellent timing, the two Suna shinobi reached the village gates of Konohagakure almost exactly on schedule. While they made their way through the gates, the budding tree leaves danced lightly in the winds above them – the arrival of spring lingering on the warming winter air. Much like the other villages, Konoha was in the midst of great prosperity and change. All around the two foreigners as they made their way down the main road were villagers bustling through the streets, setting up the wooden framework for new structures, and embracing the new technology that emerged since the war ended. The village was expanding and at a rapid rate, catching the curiosity of the Sand ninja who were used to their status quo of isolation of stability.

As they approached closer to the courtyard beyond the Hokage's mansion, they could see a silhouette of a man striding through the gardens alone, examining each plant carefully and with curious thought. Toying with a small flowering plant, Hatake Kakashi was seen in the garden from a distance - the Sixth Hokage and newly inaugurated, wearing the typical red and white robes of leadership. Sensing the two shinobi approach closer, he straightened his back and gave a friendly smile from behind his masked appearance.

"Ah, Gaara-sama!" He spoke, turning towards the Sand ninja. "You've had a good trip, I assume?"

"Kakashi," Gaara spoke, a small smile visible as he paused before him. "Nice to see you again, as the Sixth Hokage. Have the other Kage arrived as well?"

"Not yet, but they should be arriving soon enough."

As Kakashi turned to the silent masked ninja at the Kazekage's right hand, he exchanged a glance of familiarity – his mind searching for their identity as he examined their petite stature and snarling porcelain shroud. Catching a glimpse of their strange purple eyes, a light switched in his memory. "You've brought one bodyguard? You look familiar."

"Yamamori Nomasaki, sir." She bowed to him, respectfully. "We've met before, when Konoha helped rescue Kazekage-sama." Removing her mask, she looked up at his dark eyes as a friendly smile was painted on her lips. "I led the Suna pursuit team in the Land of Rivers."

"Ah, yes. You were Kazekage-sama's assistant back then, weren't you?"

Nodding, Gaara glanced at her briefly, noticing her proud smile as her response. "She's one of Suna's top tracker-nin," He explained, turning to him with a calm and blank expression. "Kankuro's away on an assignment with the puppet corps, so she was the best replacement being that she's a sensory type."

"Kakashi-sama! The other Kage have arrived at the Land of Fire's borders!"

From across the courtyard, a young chunin dressed in the Konoha shinobi attire waved towards them. "Raikage-sama, Mizukage-sama, and Tsuchikage-sama will be in Konoha in approximately two hours with their bodyguards!"

"Excellent," Kakashi nodded, turning to them. "I'll call the meeting when they arrive. You must be tired from your journey. You can rest, if you'd like."

"That won't be necessary," Gaara replied. "But thank you for the offer."

While the young Kazekage stood watching the Hokage depart for the mansion's doors, he noticed a quiet air from the bodyguard who was at his side. Turning to her, he took in her silent pondering as she looked up at the hawks circling the tower upon the village steppes - their wings curved in elegance and ferocity as they swirled in the blue skies above.

"What is it, Nomasaki?"

"Forgive me, Kazekage-sama," She started, glancing at him with a shy nod. "I have to go check in with the aviary to relay our status to the Suna Council. I'll make sure to meet up with you before the meeting starts."

As he watched her leave his side, he felt a strange sinking in his chest as she departed from his view – his emotions aching with the need to tell her everything and to be at her side. In just days, he could lose her forever. His time was running out.

"Gaara!"

Turning to the direction of the beaming voice, he seen the tall and welcoming presence of his close friend approaching – Uzumaki Naruto. Upon meeting his glance, he noticed his freshly cut blond hair peeking over his forehead protector and a bandaged arm at his side. The last time they seen each other in person was at the end of the war more than two years ago – and he was coping with the loss of his dominant arm. Much has changed since then, and the two have both grown wiser as they reached early adulthood – witnessing the peace their lands struggle to achieve finally come to fruition.

"Naruto," He greeted, a light smile on his pale features. "It's nice to see you. How's your new arm?"

"Better than ever!" Naruto grinned, gesturing to its fixed bandages in a brief flex. "Thanks to Granny Tsunade, I'm back to my old self again! That mission on the moon really pushed it, though."

As he stood before the young Kazekage, he could see a fading silhouette clothed in the Suna flak jacket departing the mansion's courtyard – their gold hair glimmering in the sun, triggering a sense of familiarity in his mind. "O-Oh, who's that? Did you get a new bodyguard?" He pondered to himself, holding his bandaged hand up to his chin in his thoughts. Jolting his memory, he realized who it was before his friend could give an answer. "Ah, it's her! Nomasaki, right?"

"She's filling in for Kankuro," Gaara nodded, averting his glance in slight embarrassment. "She's with the tracking unit, so she's temporarily filling my bodyguard position while he's away."

"I see," Naruto sighed, placing his hands on his hips – smiling off into the sunny distance. "Isn't she also your assistant?"

"Not since the war ended. She's a tracker-nin now."

Turning to him, Naruto's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You don't say?"

Standing beside him, Naruto could sense a silent discontent within Gaara – his blank gaze into the distance made it clear. Something was amiss. Warmly, he gave him a friendly wide smile. "Want to go somewhere to catch up? It's been a while since we hung out as friends, rather than just ninja. I'm headed to Ichiraku, want to join?"

Slightly surprised from the request and change of subject, Gaara glanced to his offer. Mulling it over briefly, he knew he longed to spend time with his close friend – and to push aside the tormenting thoughts about his impending forced marriage to a total stranger.

"Lead the way,"

* * *

Sitting beside each other on the cushioned stools, they conversed about the many changes in their lives since the war ended. Although Gaara had only been at Ichiraku a few times his last visit, he felt comforted and secure by the shop's aesthetics and scent of the menu – his thoughts still jumbled with a crumbling reality yet assured at the same time. Despite his desire to come clean to Nomasaki and confide in Naruto for advice, he felt he could not push himself to make a move on either front. Worry clouded his judgment, prompting him to remain in solemn silence as he pondered an escape from the council's insistence on the marriage. Unfortunately for him, the culture of Sunagakure was heavily in favor of arranged marriages – especially in the case of the remaining noble families whose existences and authority were dwindling within each new generation. Knowing of Naruto's engagement to Hyuga Hinata since his last visit only months before, it was the same fate inflicted upon himself – only of Naruto's own decision. While he pondered the upcoming marriage, he thought of his friend marrying for love – could he possibly do the same and break the cycle?

"So… I'm getting married in a few months."

"Married?" Gaara asked, turning to him surprised. "That soon?"

With a big wide smile, Naruto nodded. "Yup! We decided that we can't wait, so we're having the wedding in the springtime when the cherry blossoms are in bloom."

"Congratulations, then." Gaara said, a small smile on his lips.

"Thank you!" Naruto beamed. "It means a lot! You're all invited to the wedding, Nomasaki, too!" Leaning in closer to his ear, he gave a mischievous grin. "By the way… Are you and that wolf-girl together or what?"

Stunning him, the unexpected accusation flustered him greatly. "N-No…!" Gaara fumbled, visibly embarrassed. "What do you mean? We're just… friends."

Looking at the bulletins across the counter from where they sat, Naruto let out a groan as he put his hand under his chin – pondering his memories of the two, remembering the time they helped rescue the Kazekage nearly four years ago in the Land of Rivers. "I don't buy it." He sighed. "The way you two look at each other… it definitely means something. Even I could see that! Are you sure you're just 'friends'?"

Sadly, Gaara's eyes closed halfway as he looked down at the counter as he thought about his feelings for her – they ran deep. Since their separation after the war, he knew he always longed for her and reuniting with her for the mission only strengthened his desire to be with her at last. How could they be together at all, especially due to their current circumstances? Would she accept his affections? Did she hold the same feelings towards him after all their time together? They were questions which had no answers.

"To be truthful, Naruto… it's complicated." He started with a sigh. "I… do like her, a lot. But she was my assistant, so we have a lot of history together. I'm unsure of how to approach her about this. I'm not exactly the best at expressing how I feel… being open with others is something I still struggle with." While he thought more of his current situation, his glance saddened. "I should've made things clear to her after the war, but… I hesitated… Now I'm in a position where I'm not sure if I'll ever get the chance to tell her."

Sympathetically, Naruto looked towards his troubled friend – understanding his hidden inner strife from behind the shield of his expressionless seafoam eyes. Not once had he expected Gaara to turn to him for advice on relationships, but he was more than willing to lend a friend a hand. Happily, Naruto closed his eyes and grinned at him – slightly alarming him from his reaction.

"Well," He beamed. "There's no harm in giving it a try! Tell her how you feel when the time is right! Maybe take her out for food or something? Relationships are tough and it can be scary telling someone how you feel, but they're totally worth it with the right person." He turned towards him in his seat, gesturing with his hands as he spoke – smiling in a friendly and eager fashion. "If you think she's the right person, you've got nothing to worry about! You're the Kazekage, you can swoon her no problem!"

Turning to him, Gaara softly smiled. "Yeah…" He spoke, quietly. "Thanks, Naruto."

In response, Naruto chuckled – happy to have helped his friend. Sharply, in a quick moment, Gaara glared at him and leaned in closer - his hidden dark nature seeped out. "Don't say anything about this to anyone…" He whispered, almost threateningly. "I mean it."

"I-I'll forget it happened!" Brushing off his brief sweat, he reached for the menu – scanning it thoroughly for his next ramen choice. "Anyways, we should order something!"

"Sorry I'm late,"

When they turned to the soft voice, they seen Nomasaki approach them from the village street – her glance somewhat serious and blank. Dutiful. "But I was told that-"

"Ah, Nomasaki!" Naruto beamed. "Join us! We're just about to chow down!"

"Thanks, but I was just informed that-"

"How did you find Konoha, Nomasaki? Did you meet my fianceé?"

"Your village is lovely! I really like the forest. Although, there is a stench of dog I can't stand."

"That's just Kiba! Don't mind him!"

"Kiba?"

"He's from the Inuzuka clan! They use dog-styled ninjutsu."

"Oh, well that makes sense. Wolves typically find dogs to be foul so that explains why my senses are bothering me." She smiled, happily. "I also heard the village talking about your upcoming wedding. I'm happy for you, Naruto! I'll try my best to be at the wedding, if my duties permit of course."

"You'll be there, definitely! You and Gaara will be going as a coupl-AAH!"

Suddenly, under the long counter, a tiny stream of sand pinched Naruto's thigh in an instant before he could finish his sentence. Pretending he didn't notice Naruto's dramatic screech, Gaara turned to her. "What were you trying to say earlier?"

"Oh," Her memory jolted. "The council just sent this scroll. They said they need you to return as soon as the summit is finished. It's odd, it doesn't state why but it's apparently urgent."

Taking it from her hands, his eyes scanned the parchment's contents – reading the fine print of their demand for him to return after the delayed meeting. "I see…" He spoke, gazing at its notes with eyes closed halfway – knowing full well what was to await him when he returned to the village. It left a stinging hole in his heart, and time was running out. "Well, don't trouble yourself over it." He assured, meeting her curious glance. "There's nothing to worry about-"

"Oh look, a horoscope chart!" Naruto exclaimed, flipping through the newspaper on the counter – attempting his best to force the two to converse. "Let's test out compatibility… When's your birthday, Nomasaki?"

"Uh," She spoke, slightly awkwardly – curious as to why he suddenly interrupted their conversation. "March 13, why do you ask?"

"Just wondering!" He chuckled, scheming. "Would you look at that! You're a Pisces, so that means your perfect match is a Capricorn!" From the corner of his eye, he glanced towards Gaara in a passive aggressive fashion. "So someone who just had a birthday in January would be a good match! What's your blood-type?"

"Um… Type O."

"Ah-ha! Your perfect match is a type AB! Someone stoic and controlled! Gee, I wonder who we know who's like that…-?"

"Naruto," Gaara interrupted, somewhat annoyed – becoming aware of what he was attempting to do. "You don't have to ask her all of these questions."

"Ah come on, it's just fun and games!"

* * *

Later that day, the Five Kage Summit had finally arrived – with all the Kage sitting across from each other in the shadowed meeting place. Up above the round table, the chosen bodyguards for each Kage remained concealed in shadow within the rafters – carefully examining the meeting and their respective leader with stern glances. From the silent cover of her wolfish mask, Nomasaki kept a watchful eye on Gaara as she listened to their ongoing secretive discussion.

"So, that's the current status, eh?" The elderly Önoki sighed. "Still no evidence of the Ōtsutsuki clan in our world, at all?"

"At the moment, yes," Kakashi nodded, stern-eyed. "But please be aware that Uchiha Sasuke has only been searching for just over two years, now. He has just recently left the Land of Fire, so there is still reasonable suspicion for the other lands."

Angrily, A slammed his fist onto the meeting table, rattling the wooden structure and sending a clear message of his frustration to the other Kage and their bodyguards. "We've only just achieved peace amongst the five lands!" He shouted. "The Akatsuki was defeated! How could there possibly be more of those bastards still waiting to strike?!"

"Raikage-sama," Kakashi reminded, his voice calm as he could sense the air become tense in the meeting room. "The recent incident with the moon is an indicator that there is a possibility there are more outside of our world. Ōtsutsuki Toneri is a descendant of the branch house that went undetected for years. If we can find them and destroy them, we can then maintain our peace."

As the sounds of the Raikage's teeth gnashing in anger rose while he stood from his seat, Mei asserted her authority – straightening her back and affirming her place. "Hokage-sama is right," She agreed. "We can't risk it due to the peaceful times we are currently blessed with. In order to protect the world and our future, we must be prepared for a potential strike from those beings."

Surrendering as the eyes of all the Kage were on him, A averted his glare in frustration – returning to his seat at the meeting chambers. Brushing off the slight obstacle of emotion, Kakashi directed his attention to the silent Kazekage who sat with eyes locked on his closed palms – lost in thought about the unknown threat.

"Anything on your end, Kazekage-sama?"

Catching his attention, Gaara fixed his posture and looked towards the glances of the four Kage who sat around him – prepared to share his troubling news. "Suna has also been searching on our end independently, given that the desert can be especially treacherous for outsiders." He began, his voice low. Glancing at Kakashi, his turquoise eyes narrowed. "At the moment, we found nothing. However… there have been some disappearances of our shinobi during these expeditions, but we can't conclude anything yet."

Narrowing his dark eyes in response, Kakashi nodded once – taking in the response he received from the young Kage. "Strange." Turning to the Kage, he gave a serious-tinted gaze to each of them as the summit was reaching its climax. "In the meantime, I understand that the times have changed since the war, so I thank you all for your cooperation and your patience. Being that the moon is no longer a threat, we can at least rest easy for the time being. If Konoha discovers anything in the future, I pledge as the Hokage we will be certain to alert the other villages."

While the summit was reaching its end and domestic issues were signaling the end of the discussion amongst the Five Kage, Nomasaki sat silently upon the rafters alongside her counterparts from the allied villages. Taking in the conversation of the Ötsutsuki clan, she could feel her heart pound in her chest as she remembered the previous horrors of war she and her comrades endured for the sake of peace – was it possible that everything could be lost now that it was finally within their reach? As she continued to fulfil her guardship duties that meeting, she continued to watch Gaara with deep care from beyond the shadows – determined to keep him safe at all costs to the best of her ability. Despite the cover of her porcelain mask, she could also feel her emotions beginning to seep through the cracks of her shinobi exterior.

The longer she watched and guarded him, the more she realized the strength of her feelings for him – they were unwavering.


	38. One Last Night

**Notes:** Song recommendation / / "But the Regrets Are Killing Me" by American Football

* * *

 **Chapter 38  
** **One Last Night**

* * *

The dark of the evening quickly approached and blanketed the fiery skies in a comforting shroud of dusk - although much sooner than they expected.

Silently, the Kazekage's masked bodyguard led his way down the worn village road that was bustling with the sounds of the night and content villagers – voices jeering and laughing echoing as they passed by the restaurant district with the distinct aroma of fried meat and rice marking the air. While Gaara followed behind her path, his thoughts became burdensome – the arranged marriage was drawing closer and he was near out of time. Desperately, he wanted to figure out a way to tell her the truth – _everything_ – but nothing was coming to mind.

As they walked along the village road dotted with small shop stalls, barbeque huts, and sake bars, he remembered Naruto's words of advice that were fresh in his memory.

 _"Tell her how you feel when the time is right! Maybe take her out for food or something?"_

As he could see the view of the towering village gates in the distance, he paused – glancing at her back while she walked on with eyes that held both sorrow and a subtle hint of nervousness. Sensing his halt in his footsteps, she came to a stop and turned to him – her wolfish mask conveying curiosity and slight alarm as their glances met.

"What is it, Kazekage-sama?" She asked, curiously. "Is there something wrong? The Suna Council requested we return to the village immediately following the summit, so we don't have much time to -,"

Surprising her, he averted his glance from her slightly - mulling over what he was going to say. Looking down at the thawing ground by his feet, he was choosing his words carefully. "Nomasaki, I was thinking…" He started, sounding somewhat flustered.

Removing her mask, she examined his appearance coated in near shyness before her – greatly striking her curiousness. Not once had she seen him that way – was there a reason for his change in behavior? Feeling unsure of where he was getting at, she gave a glance in concern.

"Yes?"

Once he noticed her deep lilac eyes looking back at him, he could feel his face begin to grow hot – blushing but ever so slightly. The feeling unnerved him – never had he ever felt so emotionally uncomfortable yet assured at the same time. Averting his glance, he attempted to mask his emotions by trying his best to appear in his usual stoic nature.

"Being that this mission is almost over, would it be okay if I… -," He continued. "Treat you to… a dinner, maybe?"

Stunned and flustered by his question, she could feel her face begin to redden greatly – his sudden request jolting her. She thought as if her heart was going to pound itself out from her closed chest. "A-Are you…?" She began to ask, stammering in stunned and flustered shock. "What are you…–?"

As she could feel his eyes on her, she felt a jolt rush up through her trembling spine – remembering her assigned duties as a shinobi and the Kazekage's authority. Thinking over the possibilities, she forced her anxious mind that it was just a casual request – nothing more. However, her quickly beating heart thought otherwise.

"I-I mean…!" She fumbled, awkwardly. "Y-Yes, I can allow that!"

* * *

That night within the heart of Konoha, the two Suna shinobi stopped at a small restaurant stall.

Awkwardly and silent, they sat beside each other on separate stools with their gazes averted out of shyness and embarrassment. As the vibrant sounds of nightlife erupted into the air at full force behind them in the streets, Nomasaki did not know what to expect of their time together - and neither did Gaara. Was this a bad idea, after all? Shyly, his bodyguard hid her fluster under her tracker-nin mask.

"Round of drinks?"

With a friendly grin, the cook approached from beyond the counter - a tray full of sake held in his hands. Realizing what the drinks were, Gaara snapped out of his daze. Not once has he drank alcohol and he was too nervous about it to give it a try. Witnessing Kankuro stumble home after a night out affirmed his decision.

"Not for me," He shook his head. "I don't -,"

"I'll have one!"

Nomasaki blurted her words nervously – catching Gaara's curious attention. Grasping the small cup and bottle on the tray, she pulled her mask over her forehead and drank it as the cook walked back behind the curtain and out of sight. After swallowing, she grimaced from its sudden foul taste that graced her lips and throat.

"Eck! It's sour!" She coughed, pulling her porcelain mask back down over her face. "What kind of milk is this? This must be some weird kind of Konoha milk… Why is it so strong?"

Stunned and curious, he turned to her and watched her slowly finish her drink – surprised and alarmed at her naivety of alcohol. - _Does she know it's sake…?_ \- He thought, slightly troubled by her continued persistence to finish the beverage. As he watched her timidly try to relax her elbows on the counter, he decided to try his hand at talking.

"...Are you going to remove your mask?" He started, hesitant at first. "You won't be able to eat with it on."

She flinched.

"Y-You're right," She agreed, reaching for the straps behind her head. "Sorry, Gaara-sama."

With careful fingers, she released the latch hidden at the back of her golden hair and let the red ribbons fall from their hold. Slowly, her wolfish visage was removed. Placing it on the counter, its snarling muzzle glared back at the timid and blushing shinobi that once lay behind it. She always felt uncomfortable without her mask. It was her one saving grace from her chronic nervousness around the Kazekage - and now she was without it for him to see for himself.

Noticing the purple sheen to her eyes as he glimpsed to his side, he was suddenly reminded of how fair she was. Under the guise of her mask and shinobi attire, her femininity was concealed for duty. Without her mask to shield her, he saw the gold of her hair and the red that tinted her soft face. Averting his eyes, he began to feel the warmth spread across his cheeks again and the nervousness return.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's the occasion?" She asked, turning to him after her cup was empty – a subtle wolfish grin visible on her lips. "Surely, there must be a reason."

"Just to show my… appreciation for you taking part in this mission." He replied, his gaze fixated on the menu across from them at the stall. "Pick anything you want, it's on me."

Her face beaming with pleasant surprise, she could feel her stomach gurgling while she sat in anticipation for their meal. "That's very kind of you, Gaara-sama. Er… Gaara." She smiled. "Thank you!"

"What can I get for you folks tonight?"

"Can I have the fried meat and veggie skewer?" She asked, excitedly – watching the cook emerge from the curtain cover to take their order. "And a side of honey?"

As Gaara turned to her direction, he gave a small smile upon seeing her excited expression. "I'll get the gizzard and rice."

"Comin' up!"

Once their food was eaten and their dishes clean, they sat once again in awkward silence. Despite her not enjoying its taste, she kept drinking the "milk" from Konoha – refilling the cup as it became empty. Unknown to her, her coordination was beginning to slip away from her grasp. As he sat beside her, his troubling thoughts about the future began to emerge from the back of his mind. Distracting himself and trying to enjoy what little time he had left to spend with his previous assistant, he was going to make the most of it.

"Your father," He started. "He's still in Yamagakure?"

"Yeah," She nodded, pouring more sake into her cup. Thinking to herself, she gave a slight chuckle. "It's funny… He wasn't from the mountains, but he claims it as his home. He was elected as their chieftain, too. The villagers really like him. My clan, too. Well… what's left of them, at least."

"Do you think you'll ever go back?"

As she rose the cup to her lips, the question paused her movements. Resting the cup back upon the counter before her, she pondered his words – her eyes closing halfway as she deeply yearned for her homeland in the far north. It has been so long since she last stepped into the gates of Yamagakure – the memory of the snow lilies dotting the village path and the frost-tinted air ached her with longing. Carefully, she calculated a response to tell him, as she was still unsure of it herself.

"I definitely want to visit, but I'm not sure… Who knows?"

While he collected his thoughts over what he wanted to say next, he glanced down at his crossed arms with eyes closed halfway – his evident sorrow for the future tinting his gaze. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask me anything you want!" Holding back her distaste for the foul drink, she drank another round of the sake – still unaware of its true identity and feeling cheerily strange.

"Why did you… quit?" Surprised by his words, she turned to him – noticing his saddened expression in silence. "You left your position as my assistant so suddenly when the war ended… After we last saw Shukaku… The council had to tell me you resigned."

As she placed her small cup down on the table, she looked ahead into the pale curtains - thinking over her answer. "Well," She sighed. "I… I wanted a change. The tracking unit was interested in me because of my abilities, so I accepted a full-time position."

"I see. I was worried I was part of the reason."

"Actually, you did play as a factor."

Surprised, he turned to her – stunned by the realization. Catching wind of his response, she gave him an assured wave of her palm – her expression slightly nervous.

"Not in a bad way, don't worry. It's just… Even though you forgave me, I still feel guilty about spying on you for the council. Also… A ninja is supposed to keep their emotions in check. And I… well… my emotions…"

Sadly, her violet eyes closed halfway as she stared into the counter – prepared to bare her feelings to him as her inhibitions started to loosen around her.

"I started… falling for you, and there's no end in sight, so… I had to quit as your assistant. You're the Kazekage, my superior… I was worried that would cause an upset if I… made clear my feelings to you. That's why I was hesitant to stay in touch these last two years. I still feel bad about it to this day…"

After hearing her confession, he sat in stunned amazement. She had the same feelings for him after all this time. Relieved and saddened, he closed his eyes – masking himself from showing visible emotion. "Don't," He replied. "I was also hesitant, for… similar reasons. I should've reached out to you since you left and asked you sooner. I'm sorry."

Slowly in a groggy haze, she rested her elbows on the counter and turned to him – smiling warmly at him in an uninhibited cheerful nature. "You're so nice!" She chuckled, letting out a brief sigh. "You act like you're so emotionless and tough, but deep down I know you're just a big softy who loves cacti."

Her words surprised him, but he knew they were true. Thanks to working as his assistant, she knew him almost as good as his own siblings – every habit, every shortcoming, and every pastime. Gently, he smiled to himself – feeling comforted by her kindness. As he thought of the impending arranged marriage waiting for him back in Suna, his ringed-eyes saddened as he looked down at his lap - knowing he had to come clean and tell her the truth - everything.

"Listen, Nomasaki... There's something I need to tell you now while I still have the chance. I'm not sure how you'll take it, but it's something you need to know... When we return to Suna, the council requests that I...-,"

Sensing a disconnect, he turned back to meet her giggling expression – her face reddening by the minute and seeming groggier as the night continued. Something was definitely off about her. Could it have been the sake she was drinking?

"What's so funny?" He asked, feeling slightly embarrassed and confused at her behavior.

Letting out a soft sigh, she smiled to herself. "You make me so happy! I just want to…" She slurred. "Make you just as happy… happy, er…" To her surprise and embarrassment, she began to realize what was going on. Glancing closely at the cup and bottle by her side, she noticed they were both empty - not a drop of substance left. Suddenly, her drunken mind clued in on what was happening - she was drunk for the first time in her life. She sighed once more, embarrassed yet humored at the same time. "Gaara, I have a confession to make…"

"What is it?"

Woozy, she leaned her torso and arms onto the counter in a groggy motion. "I… I think I'm getting drunk. I don't… think that was milk…"

As she continued to slur her words and hiccup to herself, he frantically raised his palm to the cook behind the counter. "Can we have the bill, please?"

Despite his bodyguard's accidental drinking and incoherent interruptions, he was somewhat relieved he did not have to tell her about the arranged marriage set up by the Suna Council and the Hoki Family. Although, she would find out eventually - which would effectively end their friendship and realized affections for another. The timing of their realized feelings for another could not have happened at a time more worse. Making sure the cook was properly tipped, the young Kazekage and his drunken confidant left the stall as midnight slowly approached in the bustling village.

* * *

An hour later into the night, the two shinobi stopped near a stone bench in an alleyway by a street lined with budding trees.

The late winter still grasping to their frail branches, their buds covered in a faint sheen of frost. Collapsing to her knees in her incoherent state, Nomasaki vomited onto the stone cover of the alleyway – her throat burning with the bitter taste of alcohol and her skewer. Coughing, she panted as she could feel her head become dizzy - her hands grasping to the pavement in desperation to stay knelt above the ground.

"Take it easy," Gaara spoke, standing above her in the darkness. "I never imagined you'd be such a lightweight."

"I never imagined you'd… put up with me like this!" She coughed, snickering to herself in pity. "I really can't handle my liquor… I... should've known that was sake!"

Carefully, he knelt down before her, meeting her gaze as he formed a cloth in his palm with his sand - its shape forming in a light wisp of the wind. Gingerly, he patted the sand kerchief by the corner of her mouth – wiping away the last bit of evidence of her embarrassing night out as she sat knelt before him wide-eyed and stunned by his gesture.

"You should slow down, alright?." He said, comfortingly. "I know you're currently my bodyguard, but I'm also looking out for you. I care about you, Nomasaki."

Surprised by his kindness, she averted her drunken glance as his sand disappeared – smiling to herself with a faint chuckle. "You know… you surprise me sometimes."

"How so?"

"It's just… you see… How do I say this drunk…?" She began, her words slightly more coherent than earlier. "You're just… so caring and kind… It's no wonder why I'm... not surprised by how much I… love you…-,"

Shocked by her words, he sat before her in silence – his turquoise eyes widened by her drunken confession. The two were only breaths apart from another in that alleyway – their gazes meeting in the night. As he looked into her glossy eyes of soft lilac, he could feel himself become drawn to her - his chest swelling with the desire to express how he felt in that instant - but the words failed to come from his lips in time. All he could do was share a gaze of silent closeness with her. As she noticed his stunned expression directed towards her, her cheeks reddened greatly in her stupor - feeling every fibre of his warm chakra in the air around her.

"W-Why are you staring at me?" She stammered, worriedly. "Did I get sick again?"

Standing up, he gestured his palm towards her – his sand forming underneath her and gently lifting her up from the stone ground at her feet. "We should find somewhere for you to rest-"

"There you are!"

The voice alarmed him from its shrill familiarity. Turning towards the bustling street close to where they stood, Temari approached them with an annoyed scowl. "I heard you were in the village on Kage business," She spoke. "But I didn't think you were staying the night!"

"Temari," Gaara started. "We could use your help."

"Huh?"

To her surprise, he gestured to Nomasaki who stood wobbly against a tree. She looked up to Temari, her eyes glossy and face red. "Temari, I am… quite intoxicated." She confessed, her speech even more slurred than before. "Can I… lay down somewhere?" Suddenly, she hiccupped. To their surprise, her face began to slowly shift into that of a beast – her wolfishness seeping through the cracks of her incoherent drunken state.

"What happened?" Temari stammered, still shocked at the beastly and groggy sight of her usually meek and calm friend – not once did she think she was the type to go overboard. "Was she drinking?"

"She thought the sake was milk."

"Milk?!"

* * *

Later that night…

Stumbling through the village streets, Temari took a drunken Nomasaki to the Nara clan's residence in the sheltered forested edge of the village - waking up a disgruntled Shikamaru in the process from the loud chatter and snarling cackles. Once Temari found her friend a bed in the winding house, she helped tuck her in the blankets - while Gaara let them have their privacy by staying in a separate room. Luckily, her friend's wolfishness all but disappeared as she grew more tired.

"There!" Temari sighed, pulling over the blankets up to Nomasaki's neck. "You can sleep here for the night. You're lucky the Nara clan is nice to visitors and had a spare room."

Tiredly and still drunk, Nomasaki looked up to her friend as she noticed her walking towards the doorway – blowing out the candle as she opened the sliding wooden door. "Temari, did you know?" She hiccupped. "Naruto's getting married!"

Catching her attention, Temari paused. "Yeah, we just got word from him personally a few days ago, but we knew about it last trip to Konoha-"

"When are you and that Nara guy getting married? It's Shikamaru, right?"

Flustered and shocked, Temari blushed. "W-What the hell?! I-I… W-We had one date-!" Realizing her friend was still intoxicated, she sighed – brushing off her question as a drunken afterthought. Closing her emerald eyes, she smirked to herself. "You're drunk, go to sleep." Turning back to the door, she began to slide it closed.

"I would like to… get married someday… to your grumpy little brother…"

Shocked by her friend's whispering words, Temari's grasp of the sliding door paused. Turning to her, she was turned over in the blankets – only the slight gleam of her gold hair visible from the bedsheets. As Nomasaki lay closer to sleep, her eyes filled up with sadness as she thought of him – the powerful Kazekage she was hopelessly in love with despite her internal pleas to ignore any affection. Hanone was right after all those years – she did indeed had feelings for him.

"I love him a lot, but… I'm scared…"

Feeling her conflicting emotions, Temari looked on with an empathetic tint to her green eyes – watching her with a saddened glance as she thought of her youngest brother and his struggle to express his feelings to others. In sympathy and sadness, Temari slid the door closed - so that her friend could sleep…


	39. A Betrothal

**Chapter 39  
** **A Betrothal**

* * *

In a slowing stir that early morning, Nomasaki awoke from the guest bedroom with a growing knot in the pit of her stomach while her head pained with each breath. Remembering what Meiyumi would tell her after missions when they would have an evening meal together, she pieced together a potential diagnosis for her sudden horrible condition - was she experiencing her first hangover? As she pulled herself to the reach the floor, the cold wood sent a chill up her spine as her feet touched its tatami texture. While her stomach ached, she fastened the straps of her flak jacket and slipped on her shoes – strapping her mask to her back after grabbing it from the nightstand beside her. Sensing the chakra of the Kazekage and his sister nearby, she tried her best to avoid them for the first few moments of her morning – hoping to spend some time alone while she gathered her recollections of what occurred the night before.

Stepping outside into the courtyard of the Nara clan's residence, the ache in her stomach became suddenly hostile. Rushing to the cover of the shrubbery, she hung her head low as she knelt hidden, puking into the tall grass with a cough. Surprisingly, she felt much better as she stood up – although disgusted with herself at the same time. She would be sure to remember the consequences of dabbling with alcohol in the future – her body pleading with her to keep her word.

As she walked out into the courtyard, she noticed a tranquil forest in the distance across from where she made her path. The tree leaves were beginning to return to their green foliage to signal that the long winter was once again coming to an end – although the winds still held onto a light tinge of the cold. Sensing eyes watching her from the cover of the forest, she turned towards the shadows that coated the forest entrance like a veil. Cautiously, a doe emerged from the thicket – her fur a comforting light brown with small splashes of white. Intrigued and wondered by the sight, Nomasaki carefully and slowly stepped forward, reaching her hand out towards its calm wide eyes. It was years since she last seen a deer in person – not since living in the far northern mountains when she was a child.

"There, there…" She cooed, hoping to gain its trust.

After a moment of silent staring, the doe sniffed her hand before it – taking in her trust and her wolf scent. Carefully, she reached further – placing her palm upon its reared head – its ears down in submission. Smiling, she gently patted its head – honored by its surprising gesture. Although it could sense the wolf within her, it knew she posed no harm. Suddenly, Nomasaki could feel another set of eyes watching her from behind – their chakra light and featherlike as if only a shadow.

"I'm surprised they warmed up to you so easily. They must be able to sense you're no danger. Funny, being that you're actually their predator."

The voice surprised her. Turning, she seen a young man with a spiky black ponytail and a tired glance from his defined brown eyes. He had a slight slouch in his stance as he stood on the winding porch of the clan residence – appearing exhausted from his night's sleep. Remembering the faint glimmer of his face from the war, her memory jolted from meeting his gaze – Nara Shikamaru.

"Deer meat is a delicacy where I'm from, but I admire their swiftness and meaning to the forest." She replied, smiling towards the doe as she made her way back into the shadows of the thicket. Directing her attention back to him, she met his distance glance with a friendly expression – hiding her embarrassment for the recent mess she left in the garden. "Are the deer yours? The Nara clan, I mean."

"Yeah," He nodded, a slight smirk on his tired expression. "We use their antlers for our medicines. They also guard and protect us from the forest and have for generations."

Turning towards the green shroud of the forest behind her, she admired its towering trees and essence of life – taking it all in with every breath. While the scent of pine filled her senses, she stepped closer to it. "This forest is breath-taking! It's so healthy," She awed, gazing at the rich green canopy. Looking back towards him on the porch, she gave a small smile. "I envy you. Being that I'm from the northern mountains of Yama, I miss this. Suna doesn't exactly have much forest, so only scarcely do I have a chance to see something this amazing. It's remarkable!"

"Thanks," He acknowledged, smiling in return. "I take it you had a rough night. Temari woke me up after my assignment to let you in. You're Nomasaki, the wolf girl from Suna, is it? Or is that just a nickname?"

"O-Oh," She stammered, growing embarrassed. "R-Right, sorry about that!" Nodding, she hid her shame behind her purple eyes. "I'm Nomasaki. I'm acting as Kazekage-sama's bodyguard for the time being. This is probably the first time we formally met, Shikamaru. I'm sorry for the events surrounding last night… but thank you for letting me spend the night here. We didn't anticipate staying an extra day in Konoha." Chuckling to herself in quite shame, she averted her glance. "I'm so embarrassed… I can't believe I didn't know I was drinking sake… I probably made a complete fool of myself."

Shrugging, he gave a tired sigh. "We all mess up sometimes. And that's nothing, so don't worry about it. I'm sure it's nothing to fixate over."

After giving a thankful nod to his words, her mind grew worried. Knowing that a conversation about her behavior was incoming, she looked around the courtyard with a slightly concerned look to her eyes. "Where is…-?"

"He's talking with Temari." He answered, a small smile visible as he gestured to the hall at his side. "They'll be leaving for Suna soon, so you should get ready." Turning his body towards the hall, he gave a nod. "I have some things to take care of for the Hokage, so I'll leave you be. I'm sure I'll see you around." As he made his way inside towards the sliding door, something caught his attention.

"Shikamaru,"

Quietly, Gaara approached him from the doorway – a solemn and broken tint to his seafoam eyes.

"Oh," Shikamaru said. "Gaara. Er, Kazekage-sama. Did you need something?"

Looking at the floorboards below with saddened eyes, Gaara was prepared for what was to come – the conversation he was avoiding the entire mission was finally at the forefront. Their final day had approached at an incredibly sudden pace. In his hand was a scroll from the aviary that arrived earlier that morning – from the Suna Council. Because of his bodyguard's hungover state hours before, he had to retrieve the scroll himself, and he was glad he did – the council and the Hoki Family had put a rush on the arrangement and demanded that he return to Suna at once. Despite the clause for his refusal being outlined, he still was faced with a less favorable decision. To reject the arranged marriage, a bride with a bloodline from Suna would be suitable – but Nomasaki was neither from Suna nor a member of the Hoki Family. Putting away the scroll into his pack, he was prepared to come clean to her and tell her everything at last – whether it tore him apart or not.

"Can I… have a moment alone with my bodyguard?" He asked, his saddened glance onto the floor unwavering. "There's something I must discuss privately with her."

After examining his puzzling expression, Shikamaru nodded - slightly confused by his request. Nonetheless, he stepped aside to let him pass. "By all means." With the sliding of the tatami door behind him, the Kazekage and his bodyguard were granted their much needed privacy.

Stepping out onto the grass, he watched his bodyguard admire the Nara clan's forest before her – a somber tint to his guilt-ridden eyes. The time had come for him to finally tell her the truth, and he was prepared for the future consequences. As he approached closer, she felt his chakra drawing her behind her in the courtyard.

"Gaara! I…-," She turned, startled. As he paused in front of her, she averted her gaze in shame – her head hung low in solemn embarrassment. "…I wanted to apologize for last night. I don't remember much of what I said, but I'm sorry. I was your bodyguard on this mission, and the way I acted was uncalled for…"

"It's alright." He replied with a subtle nod. "You were drunk. You weren't yourself."

Lightly, she chuckled to herself as she brushed off her past behavior into the back of her mind, imagining how foolish she must have been around him. Still, he was surprisingly forgiving. Pondering to herself with her fingers held to her lips, she timidly glanced to the grassy terrain at their feet.

"Maybe next time, I can avoid the alcohol." Chipper, yet nervous, she smiled to herself. With a friendly soft smile, she looked up to meet his gaze. "I'll pay, too, to make up for yesterday."

While the young Kazekage gazed at her with a guilt evident in his glance, he could feel his heart sink into his chest - and her innocent words made it worse. For a moment, he looked down towards the grass, mulling over the troubling thoughts in his mind. As the internal pressure was mounting on him to speak, he brought himself to meet her kind gaze again – and tell her the truth.

"Nomasaki," He began, his tone cold and silent. "I… have something I need to tell you."

His tone alarming her slightly, her soft smile faded into that of a concerned expression. While she met his pained glance, she could sense that something not okay - she could see it written all over his face. "What's wrong?" She asked, looking up to him. "Did something happen?"

Averting his gaze from hers, he glanced to his side with sadness tinting the gleam of his ringed turquoise eyes from the morning sun. "The council… They are requesting that I… take part in an arranged marriage when we return."

Promptly, Nomasaki stepped back from him, her violet eyes wide with shock and hurt all at once – startled by his confession. "Marriage?" She stammered. "What do you mean? You're… betrothed?" As he met her eyes, the shocked confusion upon her expression bore through him to his core – feeling every fiber of her broken emotions. "But… why were you…? I thought that you… liked me…? On this mission… you…-" Her soft voice cracking with swelling sorrow and hurt, she could not piece the words together.

"They said the fate of my clan depends on it. I tried to refuse, but… when we return to Suna, I may have to go through with it…-"

"And you waited the whole mission to tell me this now?"

Feeling her eyes beginning to swell up with forming tears, Nomasaki walked away from him towards the forest boundary of the courtyard. Alarmed by her movements, he followed behind her with a pleading glance to his defeated expression.

"Nomasaki, I would've told you sooner but I-!"

"No!"

Her voice barked harshly towards him, her fangs visible as she whipped her head around to face him as they stood across from each other – her jaws snarling while her wolfishness made an appearance. Startling him slightly from her tear-ridden anger, it was clear she was losing control of her emotions – her snarl proved it to him.

"You knew this was going to happen all along, and you still didn't make it clear?!" She shouted. "You're going to be married to another woman when we return… yet you still…-!"

Suddenly, her sobs began to cut through her voice. Giving in to her feelings, she turned her back towards him as her tears ran down her cheeks, clutching her folded arms against her chest. As he stood silent behind her, he could feel every ounce of pain while he witnessed her silently sob before him. Guiltily, he watched – hoping desperately that she would forgive him. Seeing the woman he admired most in such a state broke him inside.

"I love you, Gaara… but…" She sobbed silently, as she tried to hold in her tears. "That's not enough… is it?"

"It is!" He shouted back, his expression pleading. "I wanted to tell you sooner during this mission, but-"

"But what? You might consider being with me someday?!" She shouted back, turning to him in anger – her cheeks stained with the remnants of tears. "I haven't seen you in two years and this is what you're hiding from me?!" Her voice tore through him, piercing him like ice. "If you really meant what you said to me during the war, we would've been together by now! But to tell you the truth…" She cried out. Turning away from him, she could feel more tears coming. "…I don't think you know what you want." To his shock, she began to step closer towards the forest.

"Wait! Nomasaki!"

As she approached the forest even closer, she felt something touch her wrist. Shocked, she looked and saw a light stream of sand grasping it - just like that time when they first met many years ago. Turning to him, she was surprised of the sight before her. With a pleading glance, Gaara's eyes glistened with forming tears – his sorrow painted all over his pained expression.

"Please…" He begged, quietly. "I can explain…-,"

As he reached out towards her, the scroll he received from the council that morning fell onto the grass below – unnoticed by the feuding pair. Anger and sadness pierced through her all at once from his last-ditch-effort. Struggling, she broke free from the sand's grasp, and bolted for the forest's edge. As the tree leaves swayed rapidly between them as the cool winds blew past, he could see the shape of a wolf looking back at him. Tears flowing from her eyes, sadness painted her beastly yet humanoid appearance as she stood in hurt silence from the cover of the forest – their pained expressions meeting in mutual devastation. In an instant before his eyes, a white blanket of thick fur coated over her as she rescinded her humanity and became a wolf. Her sudden form change startled him slightly, the beast's size even larger than he last remembered - nearly as large as the legendary direwolves of the Land of Frost yet smaller than Hanone once was. Bounding through the thicket and disappearing into the forest shadows, the large wolf vanished into the blackened thicket in a flash of white. She was gone. Shocked and saddened of what happened, he stood before the forest boundary in silence.

"Gaara!"

The shrill voice on the winds caught his attention. Turning towards the familiar voice, he seen his sister quickly approaching him from the Nara residence with her expression furrowed in anger. "Temari, I-,"

"What did you just do?!" She shouted, her storming approached solidified before him. "Do you have any idea how stupid that was?!"

Taken aback by his sister's words, he glared at her - trying to brush off what happened as he hid away his pain. "I'm the Kazekage," He spat through his teeth. "You can't talk down to me like a child." Averting her angry expression, he glanced to his side with his eyes closed halfway - trying to hide the sadness he felt from her. "I… had to tell her the truth, before it was too late."

"But it was too late! She's had feelings for you since ever! What in the hell did you think was going to happen?!"

Surprised from her rebuttal, he jolted slightly - growing more saddened as he realized the tragic turn of their conversation. "But," He started. "The arranged marriage,-"

"What arranged marriage?" She raised a brow, her eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"The senior advisors on the Suna Council are forcing me to go along with an arranged marriage to a bride of the Hoki Family. They said protecting the bloodline of our clan is crucial to the village's survival, so I… don't exactly have a choice."

Sighing to herself, she placed her hands on her hips – closing her eyes in dismay. "If you don't want to get married, then don't get married!" She scoffed. "Tell the council and apologize to her!"

"The council won't be easy to persuade-,"

"Ugh!" She groaned. "You men are so thick-headed, honestly!"

"Hey, hey,"

Turning towards the voice, the two Suna shinobi saw Shikamaru approach them from the porch – pausing before them in the courtyard. "Not all men, Temari."

"Shikamaru!" She barked, turning to him. "Stay out of this! This is a family affair, specifically the Kazekage clan!"

"Uh…" Shikamaru gulped. "S-Sorry." He sighed, dismayed by her shrill tone – he was not prepared for such a tongue-lashing so early in the morning. "I only came out here because I heard yelling. What's going on?"

With a groan, she walked over to him. Leaning towards him, she whispered in his ear - while Gaara turned back towards the direction of the forest in silent sorrow.

"Gaara and Nomasaki had a fight…"

"Ah…"

Catching her attention, Temari noticed the shape of a scroll by their feet as Shikamaru returned to the porch entrance. Reaching down to grasp it, she saw the insignia of her village – Suna – written on the front. Curiously, she opened it – glancing over its contents.

"What's this? Is this from the council?"

Looking back to his older sister, he nodded as he took notice of the scroll held in her hands. "Yes," He spoke, his tone quiet. "It's the notice I've received about the betrothal this morning. Nomasaki didn't have the chance to read it, but… that may have caused more damage if she did…"

"Let's see…" She sighed, scanning through its vast contents with narrowed green eyes inspecting every passage. Then, she saw something – her eyes slightly widening from the written words. "Hm?"

"What is it?"

"The rules of the betrothal…" She answered, looking up to him. "It says if you don't want to follow through with the Hoki Family's arrangement, you must have a bride from Suna that contains a bloodline from the village." Closing the scroll, she smirked to herself in her smug nature – baffled by their old-aged thinking. "It seems the council is dead-set on a marriage, huh? I didn't think they'd care that much."

"And?" Gaara stepped forward. "She was born in Yama. How would that change anything?"

Turning to him, she gave him a stern look. "Her father is from Suna," She explained. "So that means she has blood from the Sand in her veins, not just from Yama. She's of the Sand – by blood, just as we are."

Surprised by the revelation, his ringed-eyes widened – a glimmer of hope at last. What she said was true – Nomasaki was not a full-blood citizen of Suna, but a half-blood nonetheless. The council would have no choice but to abide.

"Of course!" He said, his tone sounding brighter than before. "Why didn't I realize it sooner?"

"That's your loophole," Temari smirked. "If you want to go against the arranged marriage, that is."

After a shared glance, he turned back to the cover of the forest before them – eyeing the swaying tree leaves as he had a new mission he must complete. "Temari," He began, his voice calm. "We're returning to Suna. I need to make things right, not just to the council… but with her." Sadly, he closed his eyes halfway while his gaze moved to the grass below. "I've… hurt her. The one thing I never wanted to do, and I did it without even realizing."

Sympathetically, she glanced at her younger sibling – understanding not only his political strife but his emotional struggles – especially considering it was her friend that was his object of affection. For years, she knew about Nomasaki's growing infatuation of her brother and his mutual feelings – although he was completely oblivious until it was too late to act, in typical 'Gaara' fashion, as she thought. Closing her eyes, she let out a tired sigh - smirking to herself with a small chuckle.

"You never really had a good grasp on emotions, Gaara." Opening her eyes, she put her hands on her hips - ready to depart. "We should get a move on, then. The sooner we get to Suna, the sooner you can set things right with Nomasaki and clear the air with the council." Trying to change the mood, she turned to him with a smirk.

"Maybe try to pin the responsibility of saving the clan to Kankuro? He could use some direction!"

"Do you think they'll listen?" He asked, second-guessing himself. "She's not a pure blood from Suna, would that matter in their eyes?"

"It shouldn't," She replied, a light smile on her lips. "If the council doesn't agree, they're fools. You're the Kazekage! It shouldn't matter if you're married or not, that's your call."

Assured from her words, a small smile formed on his lip - somewhat hopeful for the inevitable confrontation with the council. As time was beginning to run out, he started on his way from the Nara courtyard with his sister accompanying him at his side.

"Oi, Temari,"

As she turned to the voice, she saw Shikamaru stepping towards them. "You two have safe travels." He said, with his casual friendly smirk. "Visit again soon. Perhaps under different circumstances?"

Smirking at his passive smile, Temari nodded back. "I'll be seeing you around. And I'm reclaiming my title as shogi master next time, too."

He chuckled to himself, faintly blushing from her taunt. "We'll see about that."

That being said, the two Suna ninja departed back to Sunagakure - where Gaara would have to face the council at last. He was already dreading that meeting…


	40. Departure for the North

**Chapter 40  
** **Departure for the North**

* * *

After their three-day journey towards from Konoha, the Kazekage and his elder sister reached the desert crater of Sunagakure – the faint rays of the early morning sun beaming down onto the dunes as they approached. Once inside the perimeter of the village, the two siblings made their way towards the mansion in its center – starting for the clay steps that led to its large carved doorway beyond the heavily guarded gates at its entrance. As the two approached the entrance to the grand building, Temari paused beside him. Curious of her motive, Gaara turned to her – pausing in his steps as well.

"You go on ahead." She spoke. "This is a matter you have to sort out alone. You're the Kazekage, after all. You can handle this."

"And what will you do?" He asked, his gaze appearing slightly nervous for what he had to do – tell the council of his intent to marry another.

Her usual gesture, she looked to him and smirked, folding her arms across her the light grey armor on her chest. "I have to prepare for the Chunin Exams that are coming up in Konoha. They're approaching fast, so I should start working." Starting down the steps, briefly paused – giving him an assuring glance from her emerald eyes. "Good luck with the council. Let me know how it goes," She nodded. "I'm sure Nomasaki will tell me everything next time I see her."

"Temari,"

"Hm?"

Pondering his choice in words, Gaara looked down for a moment – his ringed-eyes closing halfway in preparing his thoughts. Looking back towards her, he nodded - a genuine smile visible on his pale features. "…Thank you. I've never really said this out loud, but… I highly value you as my sister. Thanks for talking some sense into me back there, in Konoha. I would've reached the same conclusion regarding this, but I just needed a… push."

Noticing the evident gratefulness in his eyes, she smiled back – humbled by his expression towards her. "I'm sure," She acknowledged, a slight chuckle on her tone. "But I think you still would've needed my help. A woman's say is always needed, especially in times like these." Shrugging to herself, she let out a sigh in dismay. " _'Arranged marriage'_ … how ridiculous! Who do those senior advisors think they are, anyways? I know it's the norm, but it's so old-fashioned."

"Actually… part of the reasoning was because of…" He averted his glance for a moment, knowing it was a touchy-subject. "…You and Shikamaru."

Jolting, she flinched in her stance towards him – her cheeks reddening that early morning from the mention. "W-What?!" She stammered. "You can't be serious…?!" Brushing her embarrassment aside, her shook her head to rid all signs of her blushing and to refocus her energy towards her task at hand. Meeting his gaze, she gave a sisterly smile in his direction. "I'll be seeing you, little brother." After a shared glance, she made her way outside of the mansion courtyard - disappearing into the plaza that warm morning.

Alone, Gaara turned back to face the doors of the towering mansion. Thanks to his support, he felt somewhat confident in what was to come. Would the council have no choice but to listen to his wishes? That was for him to find out – and he was adamant in making his case. Preparing himself, he entered and started for the meeting chambers.

Ready to come clean and make evident his iron fist…

* * *

Standing before the aged wooden doors of the council chambers, he waited – pausing in his steps as he gazed at the framing of the doorway.

This was his one and only chance to avoid a life sentence with a person he never once met – and he was sacrificing his blood-obligation to do so. Breathing in, he closed his eyes – cleansing his thoughts. After a moment, opened his ringed-eyes and entered the chambers with a stoic yet stern expression – prepared to settle things at last as the door creaked loudly and closed with a faint thunder.

"G-Gaara-sama!" A senior advisor stammered, witnessing the young Kazekage make his way towards his seat at the round table. "You've returned!" Asserting his authority, Gaara stood his ground behind his chair - refusing to sit. With raised brows of his motives, the other councilors in the chamber took notice.

"And very late! We postponed this meeting twice already!" The advisor jeered. "So… as we've requested during our last meeting…" Examining the documents before him, the elder was once more ready to secure yet another political dynasty with the Kazekage clan in power – the chamber growing silent as he rifled through his paperwork. "Are we ready to discuss the arrangement put forth from the Hoki Family? Their heiress and your future bride-to-be will be at the oasis located within the middle of the desert in a fortnight. The Hoki Family said they would like to introduce you to your bride there, so you can get to know each other before the wedding. They request that a very generous dowry be paid for their heiress'-"

"That won't be necessary. I won't be going to the oasis."

Shocked, the elders on the council went silent after their leader's interruption – stunned by his answer. Promptly, the advisor stood up, his expression in confused anger. "I beg your pardon, Kazekage-sama? What did you just say?!"

Locking eyes with the elder, Gaara's glance grew serious in nature as he firmly stood his ground. "I reject the arranged marriage proposed of the Suna Council and the Hoki Family." He answered, loud enough so all in the chamber could hear. "I will not be proceeding with it, after much consideration and thought about the matter. My clan is all but disappeared, that's just the way it is. Suna should embrace the future… and not be absorbed in outdated thinking such as this."

"What?! Are you mad?!"

"No," He spoke. From seeing the elder's furious reaction, his expression softened – the heavy weight of the arranged marriage lifting instantly from his shoulders. "I'm standing my ground as Kazekage, that's what I'm doing. I refuse to accept the Hoki Family's offer. If I do choose to marry, it would be when I see fit." As he thought over his words, he looked down for a moment - his expression appearing heartfelt and content. Choosing his words carefully, he faced the council with a soft smile upon his lips – remembering the warm and unwavering affection of the woman he admired. "And… with someone I love and care about."

"And have you found a suitable bride, Kazekage-sama?"

From the sound of his voice, the other councilmen and Kazekage directed their attention to the elder at the opposite end of the encompassing table. "To reject this bid put forth by the Suna Council and the Hoki Family, you must have a bride decided to secure the Kazekage clan's future. If not descended from one of the noble families of the Land of Wind, a bride with the blood of Suna would be acceptable."

"I… believe I have."

As he thought about his past assistant and bodyguard, he felt comforted - warm. He knew he was making the right decision – he wanted to be with her. He loved her. Eyeing the elderly councilman, he nodded – his expression grateful.

"Thanks to this mission, I opened my eyes to what was in front of me all along. I know."

The furious advisor suddenly deciphered his words, his dark eyes widening as his clenched fists shook with anger. He knew the Kazekage meant _her_ \- the outsider from the far mountains, the tracker-nin they assigned on his recent mission to Konoha, and their fatal mistake - the wolf from Yama.

The half-blood.

"You don't mean…!"

"That's not the council's concern." Gaara retorted, sternly. "This is the last we're discussing this matter."

Glaring at him bitterly, the advisor returned to his seat – crossing his arms against his chest in disgust. "Why you…!"

"To be fair," A neighboring councilman whispered to him from his side. "If it's the foreigner he's referring to… she was fathered by one of our own…! In that sense, Kazekage-sama is still following the request from the council… the bride is of the village… so there's nothing we can do about it. What's done is done…-"

"Damn him…!"

"Well, that's settled." Baki finished, sighing in dismay. "This shouldn't have been an issue from the start, but due to the senior advisor's persistence about the clan's legacy, it couldn't be helped. We, as the council, apologize, Kazekage-sama."

Taking his seat, Gaara lifted his palm at him – closing his eyes as he prepared himself for the council briefings on their schedule. "No need." His stoic nature evident in his expression after the confrontation was dealt with, his face turned stern and expressionless - collected. "Being that this topic has been dealt with, we'll begin moving on to other issues…" He began. "Such as the upcoming Chunin Exams in Konoha,"

* * *

Time dragged on.

Once the meeting was over and the evening began to make its approach over the desert cliffs, Gaara ventured into the confines of the village undetected by the passersby. Outside of the main village plaza, he went into a silent alleyway near the housing district carved with elongated stucco buildings and wooden doors. Walking up the steps to an apartment building, he reached the entrance to a tiny bachelor apartment on the third floor - Nomasaki's apartment. In front of her door, he waited patiently with a nervous and guilt-ridden tint to his eyes and expression – ready to apologize and tell her everything. He was coming clean, no matter what the cost. Taking a deep breath and thinking over this decision, he knocked. After waiting several minutes, nothing. Despite there being no answer, he kept trying – knocking on the door several times more times, but it seemed no one was home.

Scratching the back of his head in uncertainty and confusion, his eyes narrowed at the locked door. "I'm sure this is where she lives…"

As he looked at her windows, he noticed that they were still closed and were concealed by faded red curtains. As he looked down by his feet, he noticed something shoved underneath the door - mail, and lots of it. Picking up the letters and examining the envelopes, he realized something - they were all post-marked dates after the start of their mission together. She has not returned home since.

- _Where did she go…? Could she have…?_ -

He jolted.

An idea entering his mind – but was it possible? Being slightly secretive and a sensory type herself, she would be hard to track, especially since she was a high-ranking tracker-nin. She could conceal her presence to anyone, even someone above jonin, or Kage-level. In Suna, there was only one other person who would know her whereabouts aside from him and his siblings. Not anticipating going out in public, he braced himself - as the one he was looking for was not someone he knew very well, at all.

Having only one minor interaction during his second attempt at the Chunin Exams many years ago in Kumo, he took his chances.

* * *

Walking out into the village streets that darkening evening, he seen the person he was looking for.

Never the best at approaching others, he had no choice but to reach out for help. Stepping towards the dark-haired young woman at the dumpling shop, he paused - double-checking to make sure it was the correct person. Sitting at the table with her squad-mates, she drank the sake with a reddened face and a wide grin. Her weapon of choice sat beside her feet on the ground - a war fan with red markings, and a stack of medical textbooks lay next to it. This young woman was a medical-nin – Meiyumi, one of Nomasaki's closest friends and past teammate.

Stepping forward, he startled the group with his sudden presence. Before them stood the village's most powerful shinobi wandering throughout the town unannounced, and at an odd hour at night. Although they admired his leadership, they were also highly nervous to see him – not only for his legendary prowess, but also not wanting him to think the Suna shinobi were slacking off post-duty. Seeing the young Kazekage as a casual at night was definitely a strange sight, especially since he hardly left the mansion due to his workload and prestige. With friendly, yet surprised drunken faces, they welcomed him into the street-side shop with praise.

"You're... Meiyumi, right?" He asked, pausing before her. "Nomasaki's past teammate?"

"Oh," Surprised, she turned around. "K-Kazekage-sama?! What are you doing here?" Realizing his question, she remembered. "Y-Yes, we're quite close." She nodded. "We talk every so often, usually after our assignments… unless she hermits herself."

"Did you happen to talk to her recently?"

She grew curious from his urgent-sounding tone, raising a brow at his questions as she tried to control her state of stupor. Strange - the Kazekage cornering her in a dumpling shop, asking her questions – it was indeed quite peculiar.

"No, not really. Why? I thought you guys were close?"

Concern entered his expression, although subtly. Averting his glance, his face turned stoic and contained. "I can't find her anywhere, and I really need to talk to her." Meeting her gaze once more, his eyes appeared calm. "Do you have any idea where she might be?"

For a moment, she pondered to herself, placing her palm under her chin as she tried to think of their most recent interaction with her hermit of a friend. Surprisingly, she remembered a key detail. "Well, if she's not home, she might have gone to visit her dad."

"Her dad?"

"Yeah!" She spoke, with a smirk and a nod. "He's in Yamagakure. He left to rebuild it with some other Suna ninja when the war ended. I think he's the leader, too… the chieftain." Pondering her thoughts again, she attempted to coherently remember in her nearly drunken-state. "Now that I mention it... she did say she wanted to visit. She said she missed the snow... so I think she was planning to visit soon."

Suddenly, his mind jolted – realizing the answer before him. She was in the mountains. "Of course!" He spoke to himself, his eyes widening in surprise from the realization. Turning, he walked off from the cover of the restaurant stall on the street-side as if in a hurry – knowing what he must do next.

"Huh? What-?" Meiyumi reached, however awkwardly – confused by his sudden departure.

Continuing on his path, he disappeared into the village streets as the night enveloped the desert lands around him. Once he had his thoughts planned, he started for the puppet corps. He knew what he had to do, and he needed backup…

* * *

Nighttime jeers and drunken laughter hummed against the cooling desert winds.

Keeping to himself, the young Kazekage maneuvered himself throughout the streets in desperate search. The stunned and curious eyes of villagers glanced as he passed by, weaving into the crowds and disappearing as nearly as suddenly as he appeared. Kankuro was not at the estate, leaving Gaara to search every storefront and tavern in the hopes he would catch a glimpse of his older brother. Not even the puppet corps knew his exact whereabouts when asked - but they did mention that a group ventured to the village's red-light district.

Gaara hesitated.

The red-light district was a place he never dared to go. Although a known part of the Suna nightlife, the red-lantern adorned alley was a haven for brothels and debauchery. Gambling was well-practiced - as was the seeking out of womanly escorts. The Kazekage would know better than to be caught in such a place - but he did not exactly have a choice.

Seeing the backs of puppets and their scrolls tucked away in the porch as he quietly entered, he looked beyond the exquisite screen-covered entrance and saw a trio of flak-jacket clad ninja enjoying sake and conversation. Women wearing silken kimonos were with them, taking part in their words and flirting back - paying no mind to the floating eye hiding in the corner of the room. The Third Eye Jutsu was useful for many things, the war included - but for it to be used for spying on his brother was another. Scanning the red-adorned room of cushions, tapestries, bonsai trees, and escorts, he caught a glimpse of a man with purple markings on his face.

 _Found him._

Conversing with a slightly timid smile while a dark-haired escort listened, Kankuro told her of his recent mission effortlessly while the other ninja jeered loudly beside him with another. Silently the sands swirled around the eye behind the screens, forming into the shape of its caster. Stepping out from his shelter, he soon found himself standing behind his brother. Whether it was appropriate or not, the Kazekage made a formal appearance at a village brothel.

"Kankuro," He interrupted, catching the escort's stunned eyes and a bow. "I need to talk to you -?"

"G-Gaara!?" Kankuro turned. "What are you doing here?! This is the red-light district! A Kage can't be seen here!"

Gaara's ringed-eyes narrowed in slight annoyance. "I should be asking you the same thing."

"Is there a problem, sir?"

Catching their attention, a cross-faced woman smoking from a pipe approached from the back. She was older, appearing near sixty, and had a scowl that looked as if it could shatter stone. The other clients went silent from the noise of the brothers, all eyes focusing on the Kazekage who suddenly appeared. All the escorts awed longingly with their eyes for him to stay, vying for the chance to get to him first. By his arrival, he accidentally disrupted their business dealings.

"N-No, no problem here." Kankuro stood, placing coin onto the counter. "I'll just be on my way, here's my tab..."

Shamefully, Kankuro walked outside with eyes averted from his younger brother. To say he was embarrassed would be an understatement. As the door slammed shut behind them with a crack, the two paused at the red-light district's boundary. The red glow of the lanterns hovered above them, swaying from the cool winds of the desert beyond. It was a strange cold.

Ending the silence, Gaara glanced to him. "Were you seeing... an escort?"

"I-I was only drinking with a few buddies! Nothing sinister, honestly!" Kankuro coughed. "By the way - why are you here? You couldn't wait until later to talk?"

Gaara shook his head, looking down. An urgent and guilt-painted tone tinted his eyes, his thoughts running. "No. I... There's not much time." Meeting Kankuro's raised brow expression, his face turned stern. "I need you to do something for me, as my brother."

Kankuro was intrigued. "What's that?"

* * *

Under the cover of darkness, two silhouettes of shinobi stood before the towering village cliffs that marked the exit to the desert sands in the distance. With a warm cloak on his shoulders, Gaara stood before the village gates with Kankuro, who was poised and prepared for the journey – dressed as well with a cloak over his puppeteer clothes and his signature purple markings drawn over the cover of his face. Tightening the strap holding a wrapped puppet to his back, he turned to his younger brother at his side, adjusting his cloak while he stood.

"I can't believe you managed to talk me into this... especially after crashing that brothel! Are you sure about this, Gaara?" He asked. "It's a long way to Yama from here, about a day's journey north."

Gazing towards the desert ahead, Gaara's glance became solemn – sadness and nervousness tinting his seafoam eyes. "There's no other way… This is something I must do. I should've done this from the beginning, when I had my chance. This will be the hardest mission I've ever done."

Smirking at his response, Kankuro gave a smug smirk on his lips - knowing what he truly meant. Since she was once Gaara's assistant, he knew that there was some sort of connection between her and his younger brother that transcended friendship – there was love. Although his brother failed to adequately express his emotions, he knew he was making the right decision, or at least a good first step to right his wrongs.

"Even more difficult than the war?" He chuckled, turning to him. "It won't be that bad, you're just going to talk to her."

"I… have to make things right and be honest with her." Gaara spoke, closing his eyes as he turned away - masking his concern in the moonlight. "It won't be an easy feat, but I'll try my best to explain myself to her."

With a shrug of his cloak, Kankuro let out a sigh. "If you say so. This better be worth it, if we're traveling all that way! I'm already dreading that horrid weather!" He shuddered, thinking about his worst nightmare – the snow and the cold. He knew of the stories of that land from his comrades in the puppet corps and from Nomasaki herself – all left him uncomfortable and dismayed to enter the lands covered in frost and snow. "The Land of Iron was brutal… I'm really hoping the Land of Mountains is at least milder."

Brushing off his comment of her homeland and their destination, Gaara started through the gates towards the moonlit desert sands before them. Luckily, no one was around to witness them depart. "We should go now," He said, his tone stern. "Before the council realizes I'm gone. Baki is covering for me, so we can't afford to waste any time making irrelevant comments."

Smirking at his response, Kankuro gave a nod. After a long solemn day, his quick tongue was coming back, indicating that his mood was returning to its normal and stoic state. Following in his tracks, Kankuro sighed, and stepped through the sands behind him.

"Right. As you say, little brother."

Silently and without notice, the two brothers departed into the desert that night - on their way to Yamagakure in the far reaches of the Land of Mountains which lay north of the Land of Wind's border. His glance determined and stern, the young Kazekage walked onward towards the desert horizon as the cold winds blew past.

It was a long way north.


	41. Sand and Snow

**Chapter 41  
** **Sand and Snow**

* * *

Trudging through the thick blankets of snow at their feet, the two brothers trekked the far northern mountain.

Having reached the Land of Mountains border by sunrise, time was still hot on their trail. As they started for the mountain's peak at the base of the tundra fields behind them, the blinding sun over tundra suddenly disappeared from their view - a strong snowfall as if occurring out of nowhere. While the winds turned harsh and brisk with the freezing cold, their journey unfortunately turned longer and treacherous. All along the mountain path they traveled were frost-covered trees and little signs of civilization, and no fellow travelers passing them by – the growing storm was becoming too much. The cold was indeed a brutal force to be reckoned with, just as the severe heat of the desert they called home. Although Gaara was coping with the change of climate, Kankuro was struggling to stay warm – clutching his arms while we was wrapped in his cloak.

"T-This place is so cold!" He shivered. "It might even be colder than the Land of Iron! I take back what I said earlier!"

"She grew up here, Kankuro." Gaara spoke, making his way up the winding path. "This is what she was used to, winter lasts forever in this land."

"What?! You've gotta be kidding me…!" He scoffed to himself. "How she managed to live here and in Suna is beyond me…"

While they braved the elements of the winding slope of endless white before them, Gaara was surprisingly faring better despite his sand not being in use. Although he only saw snow once in his life while in the Land of Iron before the great war, seeing the snows of the Land of Mountains stirred a slight bout of bittersweet wonder. Hearing Nomasaki speak of her homeland in such a way spurred his never-ending curiosity, and now he knew why. The land may have been dangerous and foreign to them, but the land was nonetheless quite beautiful. White and silver covered everything in its wake, and small blue flowers burst from the impenetrable blanket of white around the bases of the conifers sprayed with frost. It was astounding that a climate so cold and unforgiving could be teeming with so much life - and hope.

While they reached the top of the snowy pathway, they reached a brief clearing from the winds and falling snow – the snowfall becoming calm and featherlike in the skies. Pausing in their steps as their feet crunched upon the snow below, the two stopped and pulled down their hoods – taking in the frostbitten air around them, their breath visible with each exhale. As they focused their eyes on the horizon, they saw a tiny settlement near the peak of the mountain, shrouded by the frosted pine trees that covered the snowy curve of the land. In the distance, a thin trail of smoke broke through the snowy clouds above, seemingly from a lit chimney.

Yamagakure was within their reach.

"We're almost in Yama," Gaara said. "It's near the mountaintop."

Suddenly, Gaara could feel himself being watched from where he stood. Curiously, he turned towards the darkened thicket at his side - his eyes widening at the sudden familiarity. Standing completely still, a white wolf was hidden amongst the frosted trees, its lilac eyes piercing into his gaze - watching every move the Suna ninja made on the mountain path. To his surprise, he noticed four more wolves gazing towards them, their bodies hidden amongst the pines like ghosts. Although they stood silently, they did not appear aggressive, but they were definitely not shy of making their presence known. As he glanced at the wolves, his eyes grew saddened with the memory of her.

"Are these…?" Kankuro stammered, surprised of the sight around them. "Is one of these wolves Nomasaki?"

"No," Gaara replied, his breath visible in the icy air. "But they're her clansmen, the Yamamori." Turning towards the mountain path ahead, he looked to where the chimney was radiating that morning. "We're almost there. We should keep going."

* * *

Hours passed, and the isolated mountain village was finally within their sights.

Luckily, the snowfall calmed and became a gentle flurry as the afternoon approached. However, the brisk cold still remained on the silent winds that flowed past them. As he walked under the red gates that marked the entrance to the tiny village, Gaara paused for a moment, glancing up at the aged and flaking paint on the structure - noticing the faintly charred evidence of a past burning. As the two Suna ninja started through the main village path, the few villagers observed them from the shelter of their porches and doorways, their eyes wide, curious, and somewhat startled at their foreign visitors. Although Yama was a ninja village, they were still very small and isolated from the rest of the world. There were no phonelines present overhead, and the single electrical line only reached the final house on the main road as the mountain was too treacherous and unpredictable for it to go any further. To the visitors, it looked as if the village was trapped in the past, almost as if it were a village directly from the Warring States Era - in the days before shinobi villages existed. Over the last two years since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, Yama was rebuilt by willing Suna ninja, along with the aid of the scattered mountainfolk who took refuge on the treacherous tundra and neighboring lands. Remains of the charred houses and stores from the previous invasion by Ishigakure were restored to their former glory, following an influx of citizens new and old to the settlement. There was now new life being breathed into the mountainside, with a new ninja academy even opened and a new leader established .

Kyo of Sunagakure.

As they reached the final house in the village, they stopped in their tracks. Hanging over the snowy hilltop as if watching guard over the village, the house was large and winding with a porch that surrounded its entire expanse and an elegant pointed roof – appearing as if a small castle from times of old. Catching Gaara's attention instantly was the crest above the porch doorway. A black triangle before a white background, resembling a tree upon a snowy field. It appeared as if a clan crest, he thought - and then he realized. Remembering the words Nomasaki spoke to him of her clan that night in the Land of Rivers, he knew what it truly meant. The ones who guarded the mountain, the ghosts upon the trail - the wolves. The Yamamori clan, standing watch to protect the mountain-folk who claimed the snowy lands as their home.

It was their sigil.

"Kazekage-sama, funny seeing you here."

Glancing at the winding porch, they seen the silhouette of a man sitting beyond its confines, smoking from a long dark pipe. As Gaara watched the man walk towards them from the porch with a cane and a limp, he realized who he was. Dressed in a black haori and brown garb, he took one last puff from his pipe and glanced at the two brothers with narrowed hazel eyes. Greying orange hair and a short white beard - he recognized the face - Nomasaki's father, Kyo. Their last and only encounter being the war over two years ago, it was evident that so much has changed since then – if not for him, Yama would still cease to exist. He took it upon himself to rebuild the village he abandoned – perhaps for atonement? Regardless, the land was his.

"Kyo," Gaara spoke, watching as the man paused before them with his cane in hand. "Chieftain, I mean."

"Why are you here, especially so unannounced?" Kyo asked, his glance suspicious. "Are you looking for Nomasaki?"

"…Yes," Gaara nodded, trying to mask his nervousness and concern. "Is she here?"

Gesturing to the path behind them, Kyo directed their attention towards it. The path was sheathed in frost, winding all the way up through the forest behind the chieftain's residence, close to the summit of the peak of their settlement. "She's at the Yamamori Shrine, further up the mountain." He replied. "She's doing some sort of training, I think." Turning back towards the young Kazekage, his expression turned stern – crossing his arms against his chest. "I reckon you have some explaining to do, is that it?"

Caught off guard from his question, Gaara jolted slightly for a moment. Averting his glance, he shielded his shame with a stoic stare to the snow beneath him. "What have you heard?"

"Everything."

Hurt returning to his gaze, Gaara brought himself to meet his eyes. Knowing that her father was aware of everything between them only made him more uncomfortable – but he believed he deserved it for what he did.

"I see."

Kyo's expression becoming calmer, he grasped the handle of his cane with his palm as it crunched in the snow at their feet. "If you came all this way just to see her, I suggest apologizing first," He explained, his eyes having an air of fatherly protection. "She was pretty hurt when she arrived a few days ago. I suspect she's still hurt, so you should approach cautiously." Glancing back at the snowy forest of white behind them, his hazel eyes narrowed. "You should go now while you still have the chance, before she returns at sundown."

"Thank you," Gaara nodded, a small smile on his lips as he met his gaze. "Kyo-sama."

After a nod was exchanged between the two leaders, the young Kazekage and his brother proceeded towards the winding wooded path that led to the Yamamori Shrine – entering the dark cover of the forest blanketed by the cold.

* * *

When the two reached the boundary of the Yamamori clan's forest and the snowy meadow in the distance, Gaara paused – his footsteps crunching in the deep snow. Before them was a serene white meadow of silver, surrounded by the shield of ice-covered cliffs and pine.

"Kankuro," He spoke, his breath visible in the mountain air. Curiously, Kankuro turned to him, watching him untie the thick cloak that sat warmly on his shoulders. Passing it to his brother, Gaara had a stern tint to his ringed turquoise eyes as he looked towards the meadow in the distance. "You can wait here. I'll go on ahead on my own."

Surprised, Kankuro's eyes widened – confused and slightly shocked. The cold was unimaginable to him, clinging to every breath they made, so seeing his younger brother remove his only shelter from the frost startled him. Taking the cloak in his hands, he watched as he stepped forward in the snow.

"What are you doing? Are you mad?!" He stammered. "You'll freeze!"

"This is going to sound odd, but..." Gaara began, his footsteps pausing with a light crunch on the snowy ground. Glancing back at his brother, a warm smile visible was visible on his pale features. "…I think I've gotten used to it."

Although the wind was brisk and frigid, the air was not nearly as thick as it was earlier. In the cold, he surprisingly felt somewhat comfortable. Snow, a total opposite of sand, was somehow growing on him - a young man who knew only the cruel desert heat.

Kankuro smirked, nodding once at him. "Good luck, little brother."

Nodding in return, Gaara smiled lightly – ready to risk it all. When he turned back towards the meadow ahead, his face became stern and prepared. There was no turning back…

* * *

Alone, she sat before the shrine - a dark thick cloak on her shoulders to stay warm in the never-ending cold.

In silence, she sat with her eyes closed before the snow-covered altar, meditating before the small wolf statue of the shrine as the snow softly fell. She came here once as a child with her mother – from memories of when she was alive and in good health - and now, years later as a young woman to be in tune with her ancestors and the mountain by which she hailed from. Her blue kimono-like dress getting damp from the snow underneath her, she could feel a slight shiver creep up into her spine. All her time in Suna affected her cold tolerance but only slightly – however it was noticeable. Distracting herself from the world, she focused on her meditation. Gently, small flurries continued to fall from that sky, powdering the frozen earth below as she prayed.

After a few more moments, she could feel a strong presence approach her, making its way towards the shrine at a calm and steady pace. Reluctantly, she tried tuning it out - it got closer. Suddenly, she could feel the presence stop just steps behind her. Surprised, her eyes widened in its familiarity and warmth, her heart jumping in her chest. Behind her with concerned eyes of guilt, Gaara stood.

"I'm surprised you came all this way." She remarked, not turning to him. "…As you can see, I'm busy." Her words were pained, despite trying to be stern. With a calming breath, she closed her eyes, continuing her meditation and focus.

"Nomasaki," He began, averting his gaze as he closed his eyes. "I'm sorry… for not telling you the truth sooner… That was wrong of me."

"Of course, it was wrong!" Surprising him, her change in tone grasped his attention – watching her back with concerned eyes as she remained in her seat upon the snow.

"It was dishonest, but… I appreciate your apology. I'll always be fond of you no matter what… That's my weakness." Opening her lilac eyes, she looked down at the snow beneath, her voice becoming quiet as her eyes grew saddened. "No matter the reason, I will always forgive you. We've… been through a lot together. I care about you." Slowly, she lifted herself up from the snowy ground of the meadow. Turning around, she faced him, meeting his gaze for a brief moment. With a somber stare, she looked down with eyes closed halfway. "So did you… go through with it, then?" She asked, quietly. "The arranged marriage?"

As he stood before her, he shook his head - looking into her eyes with a serious tint to his glance. "I declined the arrangement. That's why I came here to see you, I wanted to apologize and tell you where I stand."

Surprised, her eyes widened, curious as to what he wanted to tell her. "Where you… stand?" She repeated. "What do you mean?"

As he thought of what to say next, he continued to gaze at her lilac eyes, his expression softening as he started to feel flustered. To Gaara, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had a slender build, fair skin, and alluring womanly features. Her hair was as gold as the desert sun, falling over her shoulders in strands, and her gentle eyes were the same color of the lilacs of spring - he felt as if he could stare into them forever. She was one of the kindest people he knew, and she made him feel the most comfortable, warm, and content. At this moment, he knew he was finally ready to bare his feelings to her at long last.

"The truth is… I'm…" He started, at first averting his glance. Masking his nervousness, he looked directly towards her, his expression longing and from the heart - speaking words he never thought he would ever say to someone. "I'm in love with you."

Surprised, Nomasaki's eyes widened greatly from his words. Trying to grasp what he spoke within her mind, her cheeks turned red instantly. "W… What did you just say?"

His expression calm and clean of nervousness, he gave a hint of a faint smile. "I… want to be with someone of my own choice. And that's you, Nomasaki." His expression softened, as his confession lifted from his shoulders. His eyes closed halfway, as he thought to himself the extent of his feelings - unwavering, warmth, and comforting. "You don't have to reciprocate my feelings, but that's how I feel."

Almost shaking from his words, she felt her eyes begin to fill with forming tears. "Gaara…!" She whispered. "You…-!" Surprising him, she cupped her hands over her face, sobbing greatly in silence from his words to her.

Confused and bewildered by her reaction, he did not know what to make of her sudden crying. "What's wrong?" He asked, reached out to her in slight nervousness. "Did I… do something?"

Bravely and nervously, she stood up straight and wiped her tears away with her sleeves, clenching her fists at her sides as she continued to blush. "I love you!" She shouted, her fangs visible in her mouth and eyes tightly closed. "I'll be with you regardless if you're the Kazekage or not! I don't care!"

Surprised greatly by her words surprised, he gently smiled at her stance while he listened to her ramble. Humbled by her confession, he walked closer to her – his footsteps crunching lightly in the snow beneath him that afternoon.

"If you were a slob or a lowly Genin," She continued to shout, her closed eyes wet and her fists clenching tighter as she continued to confess. "Even if you weren't a ninja at all, I'd still-!"

Sensing his closeness, she flinched at the feel of his warm chakra. Slowly, she looked up to meet his gaze before her, his seafoam eyes locked onto her eyes of lilac – they were only breaths apart from each other. Silent and stunned, she stood before him blushing vibrantly, her tearstained cheeks glistening from the mountain sun and the frost. Unable to speak, she gazed into his longing expression wide-eyed and overcome with emotion. Gingerly, he touched her rosy cheek with his palm – lightly wiping away the last tears with his finger. The warmth from his hand clashed with the cold texture of her soft skin, surprising her from his gesture of kindness. As they gazed deeply into another's eyes, he edged closer - cradling her face with his warm hands as thoughts of desire flooded his mind.

For once, the timing was perfect.

Softly, his lips touched hers. Surprising her greatly, she froze. As she could feel her chest flutter with warmth, she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck – returning every bit of his affections as the snow lightly fell from the sky. After their lips parted, she looked down at the snow at her feet – smiling warmly as her cheeks blushed in the cold.

"I can't tell you how long I've wanted to do that…" Glancing up at him, she let out a brief soft chuckle - grazing her cheeks with her finger delicately, hoping to hide the evidence of her tears. "I've always… been a crier. I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Noticing her adoring expression, he warmly smiled at her. "You're more outspoken since when I first met you. You've grown into such a confident and strong person. It's… admirable. I've always admired that about you."

She smirked, her cheeks still red. "And you're more expressive than ever." She added, playfully. "You've become a great Kazekage, and the village respects you. You're so determined and strong-willed, and you always make sure to do the right thing. You're the kindest person I've met." With a coy giggle, she gestured to his head of crimson red hair. "Your hair is messier than ever, too."

Taking in her playful jab, he closed his eyes, a small smile evident on his lips. "We should head back to Yamagakure," He said, turning towards the path behind them. "Your dad is waiting for us."

Gently and blushing, she smiled back. "Yeah," She nodded. "Let's head back."

Together, the two walked down the mountain's snowy path beside each other. Lightly, she could feel a something soft and grainy touch her hand at her side. Surprised by the feel, she glanced down, noticing a soft stream of sand guiding her hand to his. Despite his confession to her, she could tell he was still nervous to physically touch her hand himself – just as he did two years ago when they said their goodbyes to Shukaku in the desert. Softly, she took his hand in hers, gently smiling to herself from his gesture. As they walked, she held his palm tightly in the cold mountain air. Glancing to her beside him, he softly smiled. As they returned to Yama as a couple at long last, he knew and had fully accepted that he was in love with her.

In love with a wolf...


	42. Stranger on the Tundra

**Chapter 42  
** **Stranger on the Tundra**

* * *

Minutes felt as if hours as he stood in the cold waiting.

Standing with arms crossed against his chest alongside a pillar of the forest gate, Kankuro let out a tired sigh while he waited for his younger brother to return. It had been more than an hour and yet no sign of Gaara, and dusk was soon approaching. Catching his curiosity, he heard a brief rustle of the pines behind him, directing his attention towards the forest path covered in frost. A smirk upon his lips, he turned to their entrance.

"Well now," He sighed, watching the two step out from the eclipse of the trees. Standing hand in hand before him was his brother, at last – and Nomasaki. Luckily, their journey to the north was not a waste. After two years, they were finally together – his sight confirming it to him that snowy day. "That was fast… and about time!"

As the couple met with him while the snow faintly fell, Nomasaki timidly averted her glance as her cheeks turned pink, retracting her hand back into the dark cover of her warm cloak – while Gaara stood calm and unfazed before his elder brother's smug smile and remark.

"Yeah," Gaara nodded. "You haven't received word from Suna?"

Kankuro shook his head, looking up to him with a stern glint to his eyes. "We should get a move on back to the village," He said. "Baki is covering for you, right? We shouldn't be away from home for too long in case they suspect you're gone. Not only that, but in an entirely different country."

"Right," Gaara answered, averting his gaze slightly.

"Something I just realized… Nomasaki-," Kankuro began, directing his attention to the timid young woman beside his brother. Hearing her name jolted her slightly, her lilac eyes alerted. "You deserted our Kazekage while on an assignment to protect him. If we don't get back to Suna by daybreak, you could potentially be classified as a missing-nin. So technically, you've committed treason."

"Eh?" She stammered, her expression frozen – stunned by the realization. She had been so caught up in the moment that she failed to realize her mission was still ongoing when she left him in a saddened rage – she left her Kazekage unattended and unprotected for days. It had been a while since she failed an assignment, and her abandonment only seemed to make it worse. Unlike the calm, collected shinobi she was trained to be, she acted irresponsibly and without code. Between the two brothers, she stood ashamed and embarrassed by her selfish actions.

"Kankuro…-!" Gaara muttered, upon seeing her face go blank in distress from his words. With a whispered _"Don't blame me"_ , Kankuro gave a shrug of his shoulders in response to his subtle glare.

"I-I suppose I did," Nomasaki stammered, bowing slightly as she turned to Gaara at her side. "I'm sorry."

"Never mind that," He answered, glancing at her. "Were you… coming back to Sunagakure with us?"

"I will," She nodded, a light smile on her face. "I just want to let my father know first before I -,"

A scent of a chakra struck her.

She sensed an unknown presence on the winds. Slightly alarmed by the presence, she turned towards the winds – the feeling brisk and unnerving to her as she stood in the cold. It felt similar to a chakra she sensed during the war – a dark and unknown presence that chilled her.

Noticing her widened eyes to the winds, Gaara gave her a concerned look. "What is it?"

"There's a stranger in our midst," She spoke, starting for the path that led towards the mountain village. "There's clansmen at the mountain's base. I have to see them." Slightly surprising her, she heard footsteps crunch in the snow beside her. Pausing, she looked to her side, meeting Gaara's calm and stern eyes.

"I'll go with you." He spoke with a nod, taking back his cloak from Kankuro. Glancing to his brother as he fastened the latch, he met his dark eyes. "Kankuro -?"

"I'm staying here," He grimaced, his face tinged with the cold. "You go on ahead. I'm going to find someplace warm."

"There's heat at the chieftain's manse," Nomasaki entered. "My father will gladly let you rest by the fire, if you want."

Relief swept over his shivers. "R-Really?" Kankuro stammered, wide-eyed. Seeing her nod, he gripped the straps of his puppets on his shoulders under his thick cloak. A grunt passed through his lips as he started on his way. "In that case, I'll be seeing you two later. The sooner we return to Suna, the better!"

After giving Gaara a soft smile, she turned back to the icy-ridden path that led down towards the village slope. "Follow me."

* * *

While the cold winds grew stronger, the two reached the base of the towering mountain of snow.

Encroaching on the vast freezing lands was a tundra that painted the only flat expanse of the Land of Mountains. Spreading for miles on end, the white lands seemed to have went on forever. Not even the trees behind them were visible in the blinding winds of frost. Clouding the sun, the sharp winds whipped against the snow and ice at their feet as they stepped out onto the land. Sensing the chakra grow closer, Nomasaki narrowed her eyes at their presence – their chakra striking her suspicion. The cloak rested heavily on Gaara's shoulders, shielding him from the cold that soon grew harsh. He may have been growing used to the cold of the mountaintop, but the tundra was an especially unforgivable place. Bones of weary travellers and animals stuck out from the ice as they trudged through the snows, near hidden by the blinding white. He swore he saw the bones of a great monster with tusks that twisted out from the snows, but Nomasaki assured him they once belonged to a most unlucky mammoth.

Mammoths.

As if the mysterious lands could have been any stranger.

Sensing the chakra draw near, Nomasaki turned towards the west as they paused upon the tundra. Shortly after a wolf appeared at her side, near invisible from the cover of snow and ice around them. Its size was the same as hers, the strong limbs and powerful jaws resembling the tales of direwolves. A clansmen. Placing her palm on its head, she gave the beast an assuring glance. Its purple eyes were locked upon the chakra it sensed, a faint snarl rumbling through its closed muzzle.

"Here," She spoke, directing her nod towards the chakra.

Swiftly, the wolf dashed ahead towards the dark silhouette in the near distance, its growl dancing on the winds around them. The figure was shrouded by the icy winds – their shape only visible from the faint breaks of sunlight that desperately tried to reach the unpopulated country of tundra and mountains.

"They can sense the chakra?" Gaara asked, turning to her. "Is it a threat?"

"I don't know," She answered, her eyes cautious. "But I have a hunch... the chakra is powerful. We'll find out soon enough."

The winds blew furiously in the silence, whipping against their fluttering cloaks with the falling snow. Striking her senses, she felt the chakra draw closer. Their footsteps faintly danced on the winds, the snow crunching beneath their feet in their journey. Whoever it was, their chakra was as powerful as it was worrisome.

"Who trespasses these lands?" She called out, stepping forward in the snow – her eyes narrowed while a serious expression painted her face. "Show yourself!"

While the winds slowly began to calm, Gaara examined the cloaked figure before them thoroughly with suspicion. Surprising him from the sight, his seafoam eyes widened at the young man who stood before them, surrounded by a snarling pack of large wolves whose coats were concealed by the eternal snow. While the wind struck the silent stranger, his black cloak and empty sleeve fluttered like leaves in the winds. As the man raised his darkened head towards them, the faint sunlight reflected upon his eyes, revealing both a gleaming Rinnegan and a Sharingan.

It was the last Uchiha.

He felt his guard rise slightly, his shoulders tensing. "It can't be…" He spoke to himself. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uchiha Sasuke…?" She jolted, glancing to him at her side. "Do you mean…-?"

His eyes narrowed, Gaara nodded at the person approaching them. "Yes, it's him."

As his confirmation sank into her psyche, she looked back to the stranger who stood before them on the tundra. Although his chakra was not as menacing as it was during the war, there was something about it that still made her feel uneasy – and his eyes made it worse. The man Gaara told her stories of years before - the man clouded by hatred and darkness - as he was once in the past. Tales of the Uchiha clan spread far and wide across the lands even before her days as a shinobi, but it all haunted her nonetheless. They both came from clans destroyed by hatred, but his by far held the greater power. Even standing as far from him as she was, her instincts rose her guard from his strange and frightening chakra. It was tainted with a darkness that forever left its mark.

Taking two steps forward, she solidified her stance in the snow, her lilac eyes holding a subtle glare. "What are you doing here? What business do you have in Yama?"

Pausing, Sasuke lifted down the hood of his blackened cloak, gazing upon the young woman with an emotionless glance that seemed almost smug in nature. Snarling silently in their muzzles, the wolves around him arched their backs in defensive aggression. "I'm no threat," He spoke. "You can calm your wolves, I'm here to request a meeting with your leader... not fight the Yamamori. Let me pass."

"How can we trust you after all you've done?" She questioned, slightly alarmed by his request. "You've committed crimes that-!"

"I've atoned for. If you won't let me pass, I'll just go on ahead alone."

Gnashing her teeth in frustration for the suspicious foreigner, she brought herself forward. Surprising her, she felt something grasp her shoulder. Turning to him, she saw a calm and assured glance from Gaara's ringed eyes. "Let him through, Nomasaki." He said, his tone holding a hint of sternness. "Remember, he's on a special assignment by the decree of the Five Kage… including myself."

"Gaara," As they turned back towards the Uchiha, he gave them a glance from the cover of his stoic expression – the wind whipping his inky black hair across his face. "I don't know why you're here, but perhaps you can speak some sense into this one. I'm running low on time as it is."

"Sasuke," Gaara answered back, his glance slightly narrowed. "The last time we crossed paths was when you were in the darkness. I understand that times have changed, and you've paid the price for your crimes… but seeing you in this circumstance is certainly unexpected." As they exchanged glances, his glare softened. "I take it this has to do with your mission?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied, nodding once with a stern expression. "Now… let me pass."

Gritting her teeth as she shot the Uchiha a glare, she reluctantly signalled her clansmen towards the mountain's peak, their disgruntled growls guiding their way back through the icy winds surrounding them. As they vanished into the white land like ghosts, the winds seemingly howled in protest. Glancing back to the stranger, she caught the glimpse of his eerie red eye.

With a bitter tint to her eyes, she turned away – guiding the stranger to her village in the mountains.

* * *

The room was as unmoving as the mountain the village sat upon.

Sitting with bitter eyes locked on the Uchiha, Nomasaki sat on her father's righthand at the front of the chieftain's meeting chambers that early evening. Along the adorned paper walls sitting on white cushions that dotted the floor were high-ranking villagers, Yamamori clansmen, and Yamagakure Council members. Dressed in honorable garbs of fine and fur-lined fabric with katanas sheathed on their backs, the listening elders and clansmen sat exerting a sea mixed of dark and violet eyes. Appearing out of place, the two visitors from Sunagakure were seated close to the chieftain and his daughter, taking note of the pairs of purple eyes that watched them and the stranger closely.

The tension could have been cut with a blade.

Seated in the center of the meeting chambers was the Uchiha – Sasuke the wanderer – looking up in silence to the chieftain after telling him of his reasoning for his journey. With a troubled and concerned glance, Kyo narrowed his eyes at the stranger. "Is this true?" Kyo questioned, placing his fingers near his white beard in thought. "Could there really be evidence of the Ōtsutsuki clan on our lands?"

"Yes," Sasuke nodded. "I'm here to investigate the shrine located on your village's mountain, the Yamamori Shrine… or so I've been told by my sources."

"That's a sacred relic!" A disgruntled villager stood up from his seat, his violet eyes filled with shocked anger. "Our people have been without a true home for generations! The shrine is an important artifact of our clan's history and culture! No outsider can go near-!"

Holding up his palm in calm retaliation, Kyo silenced the man. Although the chieftain was of good nature, his stern air was to never be provoked. His unmoving eyes of hazel proved it, the years of battle weighing heavily on his aged face. Begrudgingly, the Yamamori stepped down, returning to his cushioned seat at the floor.

Turning to her father with a concerned glint to her eyes, Nomasaki reached to him. "Father -,"

"If what you say is true, I have no choice…" Kyo sighed, closing his eyes in a breath. Opening his eyes, he gave the Uchiha a stern and dutiful glance. "Very well, Uchiha Sasuke - You have my permission as chieftain to enter the Yamamori's forest. If you do find anything, please report to me at once."

Standing up, Sasuke gave a brief bow of his dark hair. "Thank you, Kyo-sama." Silently and without incident, the stranger left the chieftain's residence.

After the sound of the closing doors filled the air, the murmured and hushed voices of the villagers erupted into the silence. Seeing her father struggle to gain his footing with his cane, Nomasaki held his arm as he stood to help him. "Father, here," She spoke, quietly. Lifting him, she feigned a smile tinged with unease. "Don't push yourself, please."

"I know," Taking his wooden cane from his daughter's hand as he stood on his feet, he gave her a fatherly nod in gratitude. "Now then, -"

"Kyo-sama!"

In an instant, a Yama ninja appeared before them from a cloud of smoke – knelt with an expression of urgency on this face.

"What is it?" Kyo asked, stepping forward.

"A blizzard is approaching fast!" The ninja exclaimed. "It's headed from the northwest of here! Our scouts say it will strike the village by nightfall."

"Very well, then." Kyo nodded, his face stern and calm. "Prepare the rations and make sure every villager is safe inside their homes. Those without a fire can use this area for refuge when it approaches."

"Yes, sir!"

Within the motion of a single hand-sign, the Yama ninja disappeared from the residence – gone to complete his given task. As the villagers began to disperse back to their homes, the sounds of the howling winds began to beat against the large home – rattling the doors slightly from the cold. Hearing the sound of footsteps across the tatami floor grow closer, Kyo turned to his side. Pausing before him was the Kazekage and his elder brother, their expressions marked in curiosity from the ninja's urgency and disappearance.

"A blizzard?" Gaara asked, his expression curious yet stoic. Not once in his life had he or his brother experienced a blizzard – and if the winds were any indication, the approaching storm would be unlike anything he had seen.

"Kazekage-sama," Kyo began. "I suggest you and your brother join us in our residence until the snowstorm passes. It's too dangerous to venture out into the lands as this time."

Heeding the warning, Gaara gave him a nod. "Right," He replied. "Thank you, Kyo-sama."

As they made their way behind the chieftain to his living quarters, something struck Gaara's curiosity. Turning to his side, he noticed that Nomasaki was missing. Perplexed by her silent vanishing, he stood with eyes wide all but for a moment – unsure of where she went during such a dangerous time.

* * *

As nightfall finally approached in the mountain lands, the storm was climbing the mountain at a steady pace – leaving the tundra near completely impassable.

Quietly, Sasuke sat knelt before the small stone wolf before the Yamamori Shrine's aged and worn altar, writing down notes on a scroll laid out on the snowy ground. From beyond the cover of the frosted trees, a wolf with piercing lilac eyes watched him. Cautiously it took in the sight of the outsider touching the relic, the final true remnant of her clan's past existence. From the corner of his eye, he shot a narrowed glare of his dark eye towards the forest boundary – knowing he was being watched by a beast.

"I could sense you following me up the mountain," He spoke, his tone cold. "What is it you want from me?"

Stepping out from the shadow of the icy forest, the wolf paused behind him, a faint snarl on its contained jaws. It towered over him, its strong limbs and massive jaws appearing as if a monster. It was larger than the others - and its eyes were piercing in their glare. As the winds blew past the creature, it changed into the shape of a human dressed in blue. Standing with her darkened cloak on her shoulders, Nomasaki examined his closeness to her clan's shrine with a protective glare mired in suspicion.

"Uchiha Sasuke," She began, her gold hair flickering against her face in the rising winds of the night. "I've heard about you, and the things you've done. You have done unspeakable things for the sake of revenge… yet you're forgiven all because of the war."

"And?"

He was not interested in conversation at all, judging by his icy retort. Her glare easing, she tried to come to terms with what she wanted to ask of him – something that bogged her mind for the last few years of her shinobi life. "Your entire clan disappeared, as mine did… I just wanted to know how you decided to steer on this new path." She pressed, her voice calmer. Looking down for a moment, she remembered her past feelings of her father, Ishi, and of Suna – and how wrong she was to feel those things. Reflecting upon it twisted her inside, but also gave relief as the faces of her comrades and friends entered her mind – appreciating their acceptance and support for the orphaned foreigner who stumbled into their desert lands. Gazing down at her open palm while the snow fell, her lilac eyes closed halfway. "I, too, was once going down a path of revenge, but my duty to my village and my comrades saved me from approaching that… darkness." Her glance holding sympathy, she looked to his back with a softened gaze. "Was that… also your resolve?"

His hand flinching for a moment on his brush's stroke, he gave a subtle nod – although not visible from the cover of his cloak. "In a way, yes." He replied, rolling up the scroll at his feet and packing it away in his satchel. "I had a friend who never gave up on me, and he literally beat his point into me that I shouldn't continue on an avenger's path. As annoying as he was, I listened. He… was right."

"Was it Uzumaki Naruto?"

Standing up, Sasuke did not face her, his black cloak flowing in the icy winds between them in the meadow. "Yes," He said. "Thanks to him, I can atone for my past sins by protecting the shinobi world. Although a sentence for my crimes, it's a sentence that will protect not only Konoha, but every village. That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

From hearing his response, she looked on with a subtle frown – understanding the sincerity of his words. Surprisingly, his chakra no longer felt as sinister as it did earlier. Although it still held onto the essence of unimaginable strength she could not understand, she began to feel as if it was not entirely a threat – albeit a subtle one. Could she have been wrong to misjudge him?

Turning towards her, he gave her a calm expression, his Sharingan seeming less intimidating than earlier. "Speaking of which, your shrine had no trace of the Ōtsutsuki clan being tied to it… so rest assured, this region may not have been in their reach." Looking back to the shrine, he gave a faint smile towards it on his pale lips. "Your clan is lucky to still have this remaining. Times have changed in the shinobi world… Hopefully your clan and mine can survive and live amongst the rest of the world… without hatred."

"Yes," She nodded, her glance saddened slightly as she gazed at the cracked wolf relic before her. "That's something we can agree on." As she sensed him turn back to face her, she gave him a stern expression – all traces of sympathy disappearing. "It must be true then, that you are indeed a changed man." She began, meeting his narrowing glance of suspicion from her words. With a nod, she held onto her glance of silent seriousness, unwavering in her stance. "If Gaara can trust you, then I will trust you… Uchiha Sasuke. However, I still have my suspicions about you… and for good reason."

"Fair enough." Sasuke said, starting on his way towards the meadow's end, walking past her in the snow. As if in a blink of an eye, the Uchiha was gone without a trace in the winds – his strange powers allowing him to vanish as if into thin air.

While she stood before the shrine that night as the winds picked up, she wondered if she carried the risk of turning the same as him back when she was a child. How different her life would have gone, and how miserable – she thought to herself. Although holding contempt for Ishi for their massacre of her homeland, she knew it was not the villagers of Ishi who committed the crime – it was their past leader and his renegades. Since meeting with Zenken before the war began, forgiving Ishi and moving past her hate for the Land of Claws grew more faint as time went on – although painful at times, but worth the closure. Her father was a different story. Since finding out he was alive, she made it her goal to meet him one day and face him for the abandonment and strife he caused within her family. However, upon meeting him did she realize that the circumstances for his abandonment were not what she previously believed to be true – he did it out of love and honor for her family, not from fear and disgust of her mother's heritage.

She knew she was wrong to judge in such a way – and she judged too fast on all accounts.

In the back of her mind, the scarce remnants of hatred boiled within her blood from the shattered memories of the men who burned her home those seven years ago. Their emblem upon their black armor was concealed by the flames that surrounded them, but she remembered the fear she saw in her own eyes as her reflection wept and trembled before their drawn sword. The rest was a blur. Shaking off the thought, she caught herself breathing frantically. Seeing her breath in the cold startled her, bringing her back to reality.

Hatred was still there - but so was fear.

As the freezing winds of snow picked up around her, she put up her hood of her cloak as the frost began to gnaw at her ears – trudging through the snow towards her father's residence to tell him of the Uchiha's findings…


	43. Of Things That Are Precious

**Chapter 43  
** **Of Things That Are Precious**

* * *

Relentlessly, the blizzard tore through the isolated mountain village at night as the unforgiving winds howled against the forested mountainside. Snow covered nearly every home in Yama, with only the glow of their windows visible in the white dark. While Kankuro sat close to the space heater in the open living room area upon a rug of animal hide, Gaara stood before the frost tinted window – watching the blinding snow rain down from the dark night skies as the winds whisked it against the mountain path. Suddenly, he could feel a cold chill from further down the dimly lit corridor to his side. Turning, he saw Nomasaki close the sliding wooden door with a thud and a lock, small remnants of snow sprayed before her feet on the tatami floor. After brushing off the remaining fragments of snow from the lap of her blue kimono-like dress, she hung her cloak upon the hook on the wall. Sensing his warm and familiar chakra, she looked to her side – meeting Gaara's gaze as she saw him begin to approach her.

"Gaara," She spoke, watching him pause before her.

"Where were you?" He asked, his eyes showing visible concern. "You disappeared after the meeting. Your father was asking where you went."

Her eyes closing, she took a calming breath – setting aside her negative feelings. "I had to see for myself… if he really _did_ change."

"You spoke to Sasuke?"

"You were right about him," She nodded, meeting his concerned gaze. "He's no threat to us, so like you… I trusted him." Averting his eyes, she looked down at her side, clutching her arm with her lilac eyes closed halfway – feeling ashamed. "Although his chakra still makes me nervous, I'll admit I can be too judgmental at times…" Looking up at him, she gave him a sympathetic glance riddled with past guilt. "…as I was when I first met you and sensed Shukaku."

With a faint smile in understanding, he gave a small nod. "You have your reasons, everyone does. You recognize that, and admitting your wrongs is worth more than affirming your truth."

Softly, she smiled at him. "I suppose it is."

Making their way into the living room, they noticed Kankuro huddled before the small heating unit in the far reaches of the room – desperately trying to warm his hands as his body tremored from the rising cold as the winds quaked the house. Sitting beside Gaara on the couch, Kankuro turned around to face her.

"When will this storm let up?" He shivered, his expression grimacing. "Any idea when?"

"Not sure, but probably not until morning," She sighed with a light smile. "The mountains in this land are treacherous, especially in times like these. We sometimes get storms that last days on end. That's why Yama is still isolated from the other villages, the peak itself is our natural defense from invaders… but also our reason for little outside contact."

Slightly surprised from her words, Kankuro shuddered, a faint groan escaping his lips as he turned back to face the amber glow of the heater. "Of course…"

With a rapid flicker of light, the power suddenly went out in the large winding home - shutting off the space heater in a bright burst that faded to black while the winds howled outside. Startling them slightly, the cold suddenly became obvious as it seeped through the panels of wood that constructed the walls on the outside of the home. Standing up in the dark, she stepped towards the icy window of the porch. Outside, the blizzard was merciless. Already there were houses in Yama that were near buried by the depths of white, and not a single light was visible from the homes – the entire village was in darkness. Starting for the sunken hearth in the center of the large living room, she pulled back her sleeves and started preparing to clean its ashes.

"Kankuro," She asked, glancing back to him. "Can you fetch me some firewood from the porch?"

Curious for a moment, he stood up – nodding once. "Sure."

* * *

Once he returned with the kindling, she organized the wood into a small pointed arrangement covered in pine needles – lighting the small pyre with two pieces of flint. Relaxing her sleeves, she poked at the growing contained fire with a metal iron as its heat began to radiate within the room around them. As the three shinobi sat around the flaming hearth with warm cups of green tea at their sides, she softly smiled to herself.

"When the weather gets like this, the power goes out nearly every time," She said. "So a warm fire is always good to have."

"The climate here certainly is different than back home," Kankuro added, stretching his arms as he laid back onto the tatami floor – taking off his pointed head covering and scratching his head of messy brown hair. "Sand and snow… complete opposites. How you managed to live through both beats me."

"They're not so different," She replied, turning to him with a friendly smile. "It's more of an… adjustment." Looking down at her lap as she held her tea in her hands, she silently chuckled to herself. "To be honest, I'd rather trek through a blizzard than a sandstorm any day. At least in a blizzard I know where to take shelter, and I'm more bothered by heat than I am of the cold."

Noticing his younger brother's silence, Kankuro sat up on his palms, giving him a smug smirk. "The sandstorms don't bother you so much. Do they, Gaara?"

"Not really," Gaara answered, glancing to him from his side as his arms were crossed against his chest. Looking back into the fire before him, he remembered his battle with the assassin in the snow riddled landscape of the Land of Rivers – and his struggle to use his sand in the encounter. "At least in a sandstorm I can control the situation. In this land, I'm put at a huge disadvantage… Using my sands in the snow takes more effort and more chakra to gather the minerals."

"But that's when your Magnet Release can be a benefit, right?" Nomasaki asked, curiously.

"Yeah," Gaara nodded towards her. "Although, the less I use it, the better."

Startled, Kankuro flinched in her direction – surprised she knew of Gaara's secret weapon and Kekkei Genkai from their long-lost clan of the desert. "S-She knows?"

"Yes," Gaara nodded, his expression stoic. "I told her."

"When?"

"A few weeks ago, when she was assigned as my bodyguard to the Summit."

Sighing in slight dismay, Kankuro laid his back down upon the floor – crossing his arms behind his head as he lay before the warm fire. "You've only been together a few weeks and you tell her all our clan's secrets…" He scoffed in a joking manner. "Gaara, for someone as tight-lipped as you I'm surprised."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gaara question, shooting him an annoyed glare from narrowed eyes.

Watching their brotherly interactions with another in front of the fiery hearth, she chuckled to herself – warmed by their presence in her family's home. As she finished her tea, she let out a tired yawn, her canines briefly making an appearance. Sensing her mind grow tired and ache for sleep, she stood up from the warmed tatami floor between the two brothers.

"You're leaving?" Kankuro asked, sitting up as he glanced at her.

"Yeah," She nodded. "I'm think I'm going to turn in for the night. I'll see you two in the morning. Hopefully the snow will stop so we can have easy passage back to the village." Starting for the dark corridor, she paused for a moment, placing her fingers on the paper wall beside her as she glanced at them with a soft smile. "Would one of you be able to put the fire out for me?"

"Uh," He paused. "Sure."

As he looked across the fire towards her, Gaara met the gleam of her lilac eyes from across the room – sharing a gaze together, although briefly. After she gave a gentle smile towards him, she disappeared into the shadows of the corridor – her footsteps becoming silent. Taking note of their interaction, Kankuro gave his younger brother a smug smirk.

"What is it?" Gaara asked, sensing his gaze in his direction.

"Nothing," Kankuro sighed. "It's just… interesting."

"What's interesting?"

"You two," He chuckled to himself after taking a sip of his warm tea. "Seeing you two together is just something I should get used to. After all, to me it was obvious that it was bound to happen at some point."

"How so?" Gaara asked, feeling slightly vulnerable from his comments.

"The way you two look at each other," Kankuro replied, turning to him. "That's a dead giveaway. That, and you rejecting the arranged marriage without a second thought. It was for her, wasn't it?"

Surprised by his conclusion, Gaara directed his attention to the flicker of embers before them – his expression stoic and calm in thought. "Yes, it was."

With a tired sigh, Kankuro laid back down upon the floor – pondering over the events from the last few days. "It's still weird that the council was so adamant about that arrangement…" He scoffed to himself. "I mean, you're the youngest of our family. If anything, they should have cornered me with that ultimatum."

From his brother's words, Gaara gazed into the fire grew deeper, his ringed eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion as thoughts gathered in his mind. What Kankuro said made sense to him, so why was he the target for the arranged marriage? The entire point of the arranged marriage was to ensure a heir to the Kazekage clan would be born, but if Temari and Shikamaru were to produce a child, that would have fulfilled the purpose – although, a child born of Konoha. Kankuro would have been the ideal choice for the marriage, as he was the oldest male descendent of their father's line to the Kazekage clan – so why were the advisors so bent on marrying himself, the previous jinchuriki of Shukaku? Was it because of his position as Kazekage – or something more that he was presently unaware of? Sensing another investigation into the council's inner workings was in order, Gaara remained silent as his glare fixated upon the crackling fire within the cold night.

"Gaara?"

Quietly, footsteps approached them from the shadowy cover of the hallway. Turning towards the pausing footsteps, Kyo stood them at the edge of the corridor holding a lit candle in his palm.

"It's getting late," Kyo spoke, gesturing to the hall behind him as he turned to the Kazekage and his brother. "There are rooms for you two if you needed somewhere to sleep."

"Thank you," Gaara nodded, snapping him out of his daze into the fire. "That's very kind."

As Kyo walked off into the darkness from the visiting Kazekage and his bodyguard, he exchanged a brief glance with the young leader from the glint of his aged hazel eyes - almost as if to imply trust. Before disappearing down the darkened corridor, he nodded his head towards the corridor gesturing for him to follow. While Kankuro relaxed before the comforting hearth, Gaara stood up from the floor and joined the chieftain in the hallway.

* * *

Walking further down towards the end of the corridor in the snow-filled night while the winds howled without end, Kyo paused, turning to face the young Kazekage with a serious yet pleading tint in his hazel eyes.

"Kazekage-sama, no… Gaara," He started, correcting himself. "Before you return to Suna, there's something I must make clear to you."

"What is it?" Gaara asked, curious while his face was stoic and calm.

Kyo closed his eyes, preparing his spiel to the young man who stood before him. "I know that you and my daughter have known each other for quite a while. You've been through a lot together, and care deeply for one another…" He opened his eyes, his glance at him once again turning serious. "But… as her father, I must ask that if you pursue her romantically, please respect her as you always have. She's a strong young woman in body and spirit, so I expect you to treat her with respect and dignity. You are the Kazekage, so I expect nothing less."

Surprising the young Kazekage, Gaara stood silent from his words. Unsure of where this was coming from, he did not know how exactly to respond. Was he receiving 'the talk'?

"She loves you. I can see it in her eyes, and…" Kyo's expression softened as their glances met through the dim candlelit, sensing his calm understanding in his ringed turquoise eyes. "I can see it in yours, too. You share her feelings."

Standing in stunned silence, Gaara's eyes held a tint of surprise from his reveal – surprised that her father knew everything. Taking notice, Kyo gave him a stern fatherly glance.

"Is that not correct?"

"Uh," Gaara fumbled. "…Yes."

Acknowledging his answer, Kyo nodded – his eyes stern and pleading at the same time. "Protect her. Keep her safe. She's my only child… she's all I have left. Surely, you must be able to understand a father's plea."

Looking down, Gaara's ringed-eyes closed halfway as he remembered the prejudice her clan still faced despite returning to their homeland in the mountains. Although Ishigakure was no longer a threat, there were still missing-nin and bandit hoards that resented the return of the Yamamori to the Land of Mountains. Although she would never outright admit it, she risked her life daily by being a kunoichi of Suna – her eyes were a dead giveaway of her Kekkei Genkai to her enemies.

"I trust in her judgement… so I would like to also trust in yours, Kazekage-sama. So… Gaara," Kyo began, locking eyes with the young Kazekage - his expression serious and protective in nature. "Can I trust you to protect and care for my daughter? Do you accept my conditions, as her father?"

Taking in his protective glance and his request, Gaara felt honored by the gesture. Nodding once, he looked up to face him with a soft smile upon his expression. "I won't let anything happen to Nomasaki, you have my word." Looking down for a moment, the thought of his realized feelings for her. Since coming clean to her in the snowy meadow, he felt so loved and content. "I've always admired her… and cared for her. She means… so much to me." Meeting his gaze, a protective and stern glance was visible in his ringed-eyes – signifying his commitment. "I rejected the arranged marriage because of her. That should make my intentions clear to you."

"Is that so?" Kyo sighed, warmly smiling as he closed his eyes.

Turning away, he began towards his sleeping chambers at the end of the winding corridor shrouded by the dark of the snowy night. As he was about to enter the doorway to his room, he paused his hand upon the sliding door. "Well… I have one last thing to say to you, then…"

Preparing for a lecture, Gaara braced himself. Turning back towards the young Kazekage, a genuine and grateful smile appeared on Kyo's aged expression, reflected in the darkness by the warmth of the candlelight.

"…Welcome to the family."

Surprised, Gaara took in his parting words as he disappeared into the confines of the room with the faint noise of the sliding door being shut. Family. Had he gained her father's acceptance already? Alone, Gaara stood in the darkened hallway - taking in what just transpired with the chieftain.

* * *

As Nomasaki lay in her bed upon the cold tatami floor while wrapped in the layers of her warm sheets, she heard a quiet knock that rose her from her brief slumber. Rising slightly that late night, she wiped her tired eyes with her sleeve. Foggy in her senses, she could only hear the person enter her sleeping chambers, sliding the door behind them in careful silence.

"Hm?" She yawned, her eyes and sense trying to focus in the darkness. As her vision cleared, she seen the faint silhouette of Gaara standing before her by the doorway – sensing his warm chakra close to her. "O-Oh, it's only you."

Holding slight guilt for waking her, his ringed-eyes closed halfway as he looked down at the tatami floorboards beneath him. Although they were closer to each other than they have ever been, he still felt as if his presence was at an inopportune time. As Kankuro snored loudly in their guest chambers, he thought his insomnia would grant him some time to speak privately with his newly affirmed love. Instead, it kept him awake and wandering the confines of the home while he desperately waited for sleep to once again find him.

"I'm still unable to sleep," He began, his voice quiet. "Can I stay here… with you?"

Surprised by his request in her state of midnight awakening, she lightly smiled with a nod. "Make yourself at home."

Making his way closer to her bed, he stopped near the wall at her side, sitting down upon the wooden floor as the faint sound of the wind could be heard outside. Laying on her back, she adjusted her blankets and made herself comfortable – the warmth of his chakra easing her in the room. Looking up at the ceiling above her, she gently smiled to herself in a bittersweet nature.

"I… used to live here in this house, as a child."

"With your mom?" He asked, looking towards her with a sympathetic tint to his eyes – knowing it was a sensitive subject, as his memory recalled.

Turning to him briefly, she nodded, her lilac eyes painted in silent grief. "She was really something… She was fair, kind, and taught me how to be strong. She was incredibly strong, but… she was always very sad." Her eyes narrowing at the ceiling above her in sorrow, she took in a soft breath. "My mother lived every day of her live ostracized by the villagers and spent the last of her days waiting for my father to return… but he never came in time. It's too bad she passed when I was young… Although we fought because of the Edō Tensei, I wished I could've shown her how far I've come…" A light smile faded upon her lips as she remembered her strife as an orphan of Yama – discarded in the tiny village with no one to call her family. "The village almost didn't give her a marked grave." Surprised by her words, he turned towards her with eyes stunned. "They were so afraid of her… of us. Our clan had a bad reputation for past conflicts, so they were hesitant. In the end, they laid her to rest with the other villagers. They must have pitied me, since I was a lowly orphan then."

From hearing her words, he looked down, resonating with her sadness. Although she scarcely talked about her past life in the mountains before she began her life in Suna, the story of her mother always struck a chord with him – in addition to childhood loneliness, they both grew up without their mothers. "I'm sorry."

"What about your mom?"

Turning her body over until she was laying on her belly, she placed her hand under her chin - ready to listen to his answer with a soft smile on her lips as she met his surprised expression. "My… mother?" He repeated.

Softly smiling, she nodded. "What was she like? I've… always wanted to ask."

Gazing towards the dim moonlit-window covered in snow and ice, his expression became sorrowful. "Her name was... Karura. She was… quite something, too. She was the older sister to my late uncle, Yashamaru. I… have no memory of her, but I was told she was very kind and that she loved my family very much." Sadly, his eyes closed halfway as he looked down at his lap. "She… died shortly after I was born. The sealing jutsu used to make me Shukaku's jinchuriki… it placed her body under great stress. For a long time, I thought I was to blame for her passing… But now I know, it wasn't my fault." Looking at his open palm before him, his expression softened as he could see the faint glimmer of sand grains present. "Her love lives on in my sand… and protects me to this day. At least, that's what my father said... when we fought during the war, because of the Edō Tensei."

Guilt painting over her saddened eyes, she averted her glance. "I'm so sorry, Gaara." She spoke, regretfully. "I shouldn't have pressed so much…"

"Don't be." Surprised, she turned to him – meeting a faint soft smile upon his face. "Talking with you is always welcome. It's... therapeutic, almost."

Warmly, she smiled at him before she turned over on her side in the bed. "On the topic of parents," She began with a sigh. "What was it my dad was talking to you about? I could sense your chakra in the hallway earlier."

"Your dad asked me to protect you."

"He did?" She scoffed to herself, chuckling lightly. "Honestly! I'm a jonin, and he still worries about me. Damn him…"

"Nomasaki,"

Curious by the sound of her name, she glanced towards him from her bedside. Surprising her slightly, she could feel her chest lightly flutter as she met with the intent and deep gaze exerted towards her from his ringed-eyes.

"I promise I will protect you. You're precious to me"

Stunned by his words, she could feel her cheeks redden as she stared into his unwavering gaze. To her, his eyes conveyed his intentions. Looking down for a moment, she fondly remembered when he held her close her during the war – after he revealed the truth of their bond. His words still lingered in her mind.

" _Nomasaki, you're precious to me. That's why I'm protecting you, for our bond. I care about you."_

Her lips forming a warm smile, she fondly imagined his embrace – meeting his protective glance directed towards her. "Ever since the war… You still meant what you said, after all this time."

He nodded. "Always."

With a warm smile, she sighed, turning her back towards him as she covered herself in her blankets. "I can't wait to go back home."

"I thought this was your home? You were born here, in Yama."

"Yama will always have a place in my heart, but… My home is in Suna."

From her words, he softly smiled at her from across the room - comforted and at ease. "You should get your rest," He reminded, closing his eyes. "Since we'll be leaving early in the morning."

"Gaara, I have a... favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"For tonight, would you…" She started, sounding flustered. As she could feel her cheeks reddening, she huddled closer into the blankets to hide her expression from his curious glance. "Would you… sleep in the bed with me? Just for tonight?"

Surprised and humbled by her request, he sadly averted his glance. "I told you… I can't." He replied, quietly. "I still struggle with my insomnia… so I can't sleep."

Closing her eyes and trying once more to sleep, she accepted his reasoning. Silently, she could hear him stand up and walk towards her, his chakra approaching closer to where she lay. Carefully, Gaara joined her by laying on top of the blankets beside her, just like their night at the inn only a few weeks ago.

"I can only… hold you." He stated, his voice soft and protective. "Is that… alright?"

Her back facing him, she nodded as she lay within the blankets. "Yes."

Gently and with great care, he swallowed every fear of closeness he had within him to follow through with his compromise. Gingerly, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close - protecting her as she slept soundly in his arms as the snow continued to fall...


	44. The Approaching Threat

**Chapter 44  
** **The Approaching Threat**

* * *

As the faint gleam of the sun struck the icy coat upon the pines, the blizzard that ravaged the mountain village had finally come to an end.

Early that morning, equipped with their warm cloaks on their shoulders, the three Suna shinobi stood outside the chieftain's grand residence on the mountain hilltop. A warm smile on his aging face, Kyo gave them a nod as he saw them off. Unexpected as they were, he welcomed them as guests into his land and his home. Three years of ruling over the tiny mountain settlement had not only gave him the new horizons of a leader, but his desire for peace had never before been stronger. The mountain-folk welcomed his calming leadership, and their cautious glances towards the shinobi from the desert soon turned amicable and grateful. Even the Yamamori clansmen who resided further up the mountain slopes no longer watched from behind the pines with their ghostly figures and purple eyes.

Trust and redemption was fresh on the winds - as cold and unforgiving as the winds were.

"Safe travels, to each of you." Kyo said. "You may come and visit Yama whenever you like. My home will always be open."

"Thank you, Kyo-sama." Gaara nodded. "We appreciate the hospitality. From one leader to another, you have my thanks."

His expression saddening slightly, Kyo turned to his daughter who stood beside the two Suna brothers – her face exerting a light-natured smile as he stepped closer. A young woman grown, his heart ached with the coming departure. As soon as she arrived, her home in the desert was calling for her.

"Be sure to write to your old man, okay?" He smiled, masking his grief. "I'll miss you. Have a safe journey."

Sensing his parental worry in his tone, she moved closer and hugged him, her eyes closed tight to contain her shared grief. Although she spent more than a week in her mountain homeland, it was not nearly enough time for her to spend with her father. From being previously at odds and estranged, they were fully connected as parent and child, although seldom saw each other due to the distance between their lands. She would drop everything and return in a heart beat, but she knew where she belonged - and her time in Yama had come to pass.

Letting go, she gave a light smile. "Yeah," She nodded. "Thanks, dad. I'll come back to visit soon, I promise."

The winds rose, the cold growing strong that morning. Entering her senses, a nearby presence struck her from the frosted winds.

Fire, blood, and warning.

Shocked, her eyes widened as she took it with her breath, bewildered at the thought that entered her flashing memories. Within an instant, she was reminded of the chakra from that night when Yama was destroyed, and the dangerous assassin from the Land of Rivers – the presence nearly identical. The feeling of fear crept up within her, remembering herself as the scared girl hiding behind fallen houses of fire as the armored men in black garbs attacked her village, pillaging homes, attacking the villagers, and searching everywhere. The forged crest on their gleaming armor was suddenly fully visualized in her mind.

It was the mark of a beast.

Feeling their chakra approach the village from the cover of the tundra, her shocked expression formed a snarl on her lips – anger entering her mind from the threatening energy she felt through her bones. Her blood was near at a boil, the wolf inside her rising in fury from the scent on the winds. Her eyes went wide with shock and hatred all at once, dreading what her senses were telling her.

Alarmed by her sudden freeze close by, Gaara turned to her with his eyes narrowed in concern. "Nomasaki, what's wrong?"

"That vile presence…!" She spat, containing her anger through her clenched fists at her sides. "They've returned…!"

"Who?" Kankuro asked, sternly, turning to her in suspicion. "What is it?"

Her eyes serious, she met their glances. "It's them - the ones who ambushed Yama when I was a child!" She turned towards the winding village path, her eyes narrowed as she could sense them approach the tundra below. "The same chakra is approaching the village right now!"

"Why do you think it's the same invaders?" Gaara questioned. "How can you tell?"

"I know." She replied, her eyes locked on the trail in contempt. "I _never_ forget a presence. It's them, I'm certain!"

"Is this true? Are you sure?" Kyo entered, his expression taken aback. Looking back to her father, she saw him approach, his expression urgent and alarmed. After seeing her nod with a grimace, he averted his glance in frustration. "After all this time -!? They have the nerve to come back… just when Yama is finally rebuilt -! The bastards! I don't understand, we have no true resources - no assets of worth - what could they possibly want from us? We're a village of less than three hundred shinobi!"

"The Yamamori blood," Nomasaki answered. "It has to be... These enemies share the same chakra of a man who was sent to kill me - the same as the shinobi who tried to capture me as a genin! It's the clan they're after, it has to be."

Kyo's hazel eyes narrowed in suspicion. Her words seemed to ring true to him. The village possessed no other bloodline, no other prominent families from times of old. Only the Yamamori clan who recently rejoined their ancestral home were the kekkei genkai wielders of the tiny mountain settlement. Word spread near and far of their revival from their years of hiding, and no doubt there were those within the shadows wanting to steal their power for themselves - or for a large bounty of coin.

"What do you suggest we do, then?" He pressed. "They're amongst the strongest we have."

"Have the Yamamori guard the village perimeter," She said, her voice stern - commanding. "They can't be on the front lines. Keep them hidden."

Listening carefully to their conversation, Kankuro leaned closer to his younger brother's ear. "Gaara, what should we do…?" He asked in an urgent whisper. "If it really is an invasion from another country - from Ishi - we could have an international crisis on our hands…! Suna should stay out of this… you're the Kazekage…!"

"I'm aware of that," Gaara answered, his tone quiet as his narrowed eyes met his brother's glance. "However, if the situation escalates, we might not have a say in the matter… For now, we have no choice but to wait…"

"Should we send word to Suna…?"

"No," Gaara spoke. "This is Yama's conflict… I have faith in their abilities to defend their village… Right now, there's no reason for Suna to be involved…"

Taking in his words, Kankuro nodded. While Gaara pondered to himself on the possibility of a battle, he became troubled over the words of Zenken that they exchanged only three years prior. Ishi vowed to never again hunt the Yamamori of the Land of Mountains and asked for forgiveness of their past massacre of Yamagakure. Were the invaders that Nomasaki sensed truly of Ishi, or were they simply mercenaries for a nameless cause?

He was hoping it was the latter - but she was a reliable source as well.

"Kyo-sama!"

The powdery snow passing through the fast winds, four flak jacket-clad Yama shinobi appeared before their village leader upon the snowy earth, poised to follow his commands. Engraved onto their gleaming forehead protectors was the silhouette of three intersecting peaks. Mountains. Their faces were young, unseasoned by the thrill and chaos of war - rookies, it seemed. If they were old enough for the last attack those seven years ago, they would have been slaughtered at the border patrol with the last remnants of a village gone and passed. If times were fortunate, they would not be the last Yama shinobi seen by outsiders.

"Summon all available chunin and above shinobi to stand guard!" Kyo ordered, his eyes narrowed in anger for what was awaiting them at the mountain's base. "Evacuate all women and children to the shelter! I'm not allowing a single villager to be harmed! Instruct the Yamamori to guard the village perimeter! No one is to leave to the tundra without my signal!"

"Yes, sir!"

Instantly, the ninja disappeared into the snowy village while the guardsmen began to mobilize. While the homes shuttered and families moved towards the snowy bunker under the Yama Ninja Academy, their voices of concern and growing panic soon filled the cold mountain air. The sound of paws hitting the snows behind them echoed while the purple eyed wolves hid themselves amongst the frosted trees. Feeling their chakra around her, her eyes grew concerned for what awaited them on the tundra. Catching her attention, she felt Gaara's chakra draw near.

"What will you do?" He asked, his eyes serious. "These are your people, your homeland."

Turning to face him, he met the stern glint of her lilac eyes in the faint sunlight while the frost-bitten air grazed their faces. "I have to defend this place," She answered. "No matter who the enemy is, I have to fight them." Turning back to the mountain path, her eyes narrowed in her resolve. "Regardless if it is Ishi or not, I will protect Yamagakure. I'm not letting my father's legacy be for nothing... or my mother's."

Taking in her words, he realized her conversation with Sasuke was not entirely for naught. Despite her hatred for Ishi in the past, her present motivation was not revenge but instead protection for her mountain homeland. A legacy. Accepting her words, he gave her a concerned glance as the harsh winds grew between them.

"Someone -! Help! Please!"

Drawing their attention, they witnessed the sight of a Yama ninja carry an injured woman towards the village gates. Making their way towards the concerned crowd, they approached the distressed villager and her escort. Upon reaching the crowd's center, they saw a dark-haired woman sobbing uncontrollably on the snowy ground, the side of her face bloodied and cut.

Shocked by the sight, Kyo knelt down beside her. "What's happened?!" He demanded, trying to console her sobs. "Who did this to you?!"

The woman grasped her injury as she attempted to stop the tears from flowing, her hands painted in crimson as she trembled. "My son…!" She cried. "He…! He was taken, he was ripped from my arms…!" Her back shivered as she heaved closer towards the red-stained snow before her, tears staining her expression. "Strange armored men came and took my son! I tried to save him, but they attacked me... Their faces were covered, so I don't know who they are…! My son... He's gone...!"

Stepping forward, Nomasaki knelt before her, and assuring air to her expression as she placed her hand upon her quivering shoulder. "Don't worry," She spoke, calmly. "I'll save him."

Upon seeing the striking coloring of her lilac eyes as she met her glance, the woman jolted – her expression shocked and fearful. "You're…! You're a…-,"

Confused by her reaction initially, Nomasaki then understood why. The frightened woman knew of her clan - the wolves. Despite the village being recently reborn, some of its old prejudices still persisted about the clan she hailed from, whispered amongst hushed tones between elders and concerned citizens alike. Sympathetically, her eyes closed halfway at the trembling woman, understanding her fear.

"I know," She nodded, her expression serious. "But it's alright. I'm here to help you."

Relieved from her gesture, the woman broke into silent sobs again. "Please… save my boy…! He's only six!"

Standing up, Nomasaki started for the path with a determined and prepared glance - her footsteps crunching into the snow as she continued on ahead. "Gaara, Kankuro," She called as she glanced behind at them, her canines growing inside her jaws. "Keep watch over Yama, I'm pursuing them!"

Once she returned her gaze to the edge of the village, she eyed the icy forest below with a forming glare, knowing her destination was the harsh lands of the tundra. With a quiet wince, she felt her form shift from skin to fur, becoming a wolf with a snarl on its closed muzzle as she felt the blood boil under her clothes while her muscles shook with the change. Digging her paws into the snow, the strong muscles of her limbs propelled her forward as the cold air escaped from the bark of her fanged jaws. Darting through the trees in incredible speed and force, the snow leapt behind her paws as she sprinted down the mountain - determined to save the child from the enemy's grasp. Concerned, Gaara watched the white wolf disappear amongst the winds, worried about her safety in the battle alone.

"Go, Gaara,"

Surprised, Gaara turned to the voice behind him. Meeting the nod and stern glance from his older brother, Kankuro grasped the straps of his puppet's scrolls. "I've got things handled here. Make sure she doesn't hurt herself, or worse."

"Alright," He nodded, his body turning towards the path. "Don't do anything too rash, we have to remain neutral."

Smirking, Kankuro nodded. "Same to you, little brother."

Following her, the Kazekage started down the mountain slope in haste - ready to face the invaders that awaited on the frozen tundra.

* * *

In the snow-covered lands surrounded by the white of the winds, she saw them before her in the distance.

As her nostrils flaring with rage and feral strength, a growl ripped through her jaws as she made her way towards the group of armored enemies – eyeing the captive child in their midst. Her paws crunching through the snow with each step, she cautiously stepped towards them. Once a safe distance away, she stood her ground, a snarl ripping through the air as her white fur flared at her back - her muzzle exposing her threatening canines.

Watching the wolf from afar, the armor-clad leader of the renegades scoffed at the sight before him, his face concealed by a black mask. "A wolf?" He sighed. "I thought we finally killed you off in our last invasion? Our mistake, then."

Suddenly, an icy wind swept by, stirring up the snow at their feet. Once the wind retreated, it was not a wolf who stood before them, but a woman clothed in a dark cloak and a blue kimono-like dress - Nomasaki. Her lilac eyes narrowed in a feral nature towards them, suppressing her anger as she could begin to feel her blood boil. She saw it - the emblem engraved onto his armor. The beast marking she remembered as a child chilled through her. Her instincts were right.

"You thought wrong!" She spat. "Let the child go!"

Glancing at her up and down, he took in the shape of her new form, smirking to himself – amused by her threat. As the child was bound behind him by rope, he pulled the child forward by the hair. Shivering in the cold, the boy gave a faint wince in pain, his expression displaying his utter fear for his young and short life.

"This child…" The enemy began. Pulling the boy's hair tighter, he rose the child to meet his threatening eyes. "…He was wandering around the outskirts, which was convenient for us! It's not a boar, but it's still something for our men to hunt." Watching her stand with her fists clenched at her sides, he dropped the child back to the snow. "If you allow us to march up to your village, we may consider sparing the child's life. If not… consider the child dead."

"You have no right!" She barked. "You terrorized my village and burned it to the ground!" Narrowing her feral glare towards him, her voice curled into a growl. "I'm not letting you move any further! I'll stop you before you can even step foot in Yama!"

In a quick moment, the man held a katana to the boy's throat, the men at his sides prepared to charge on command – unfazed by her threat. "If you move, the child dies. Surrender now, and we'll spare him."

Closing his eyes, tears streamed down the boy's face, shaking as he stood defenseless. Seeing the child in that state made her even angrier. Her feral instincts screaming at her to attack, she kept them at bay. Controlling her rage, her glare pierced through the man and his mercenaries before her.

"I'll give you one last chance," She spat. "Let him go…!"

Turning to the followers at his sides, he nodded at them to move forward - the line of armored men poising their spears for attack in response.

Cleansing her instincts from her mind, she closed her eyes. "So be it."

Opening her eyes, she dashed forward along the tundra.

As one of the men stabbed their spear towards her, she flipped her stance under him, tossing him behind as she used his weight against him, throwing him to the frozen ground with a thud. Continuing forward, she kept at her path towards the leader, her feral violet eyes locked onto him amongst his armored men. While the other bandits stood hesitantly as she approached, their expressions became fearful – and their leader noticed.

"Why are you just standing there?!" He shouted. "Kill her! She's just a woman!"

In an instant, ten weapon-wielding enemies charged forward, lunging at her. Suddenly, she solidified her stance into the snow, weaving hand-signs in a quick and swift motion.

"Secret Art! Snow Wolf Pillars!"

With a rumble, a relentless wave of wolf heads rose from the snow, attacking the charging enemies and swallowing some whole as they receded into the snowy earth. Noticing the child was now alone and unguarded, she ran to him. Once beside him, she cut the rope that bound him with a kunai from her satchel.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, calmly. Afraid and eyes wet with tears, he shook his head. "Hold on to me, and quickly!"

Before his eyes, with a quiet wince and a snarl, the woman who rescued him transformed into a white wolf. As the beast turned to him, it glanced at him with the same lilac eyes. Shocked by the wolf's words and transformation, he hesitantly grabbed the thick fur on her back. Once he had a grip, the wolf dashed toward the mountain's base in the veil of white. Suddenly, once the leader regained his footing after her jutsu of the snow, he formed the hand-signs for a fire release jutsu as he witnessed the beast dash towards the mountain with his hostage.

"Finally… you're mine!"

As the wolf continued running, feeling the heat of the flames on its trail, a large stream of sand quickly flew behind them, blocking the attack in a single lash. Once at the edge of the tundra, the wolf stopped in its tracks, sliding its claws along the snowy earth as it sensed an all-too-familiar presence.

"Nomasaki!"

To their surprise, Gaara appeared before them from the cover of frost. Meeting his stern gaze, she looked at him, her feral eyes surprised to see him in her current form. Realizing they stopped, the boy slowly opened his eyes – hopping off the wolf's back as the beast lay its belly onto the snowy earth for him to dismount. As the wolf stood before him calmly, he examined its form fully for the first time as if in ages. Just as he thought, she was larger than the last time he saw her form during the war. Although smaller than Hanone, her fully grown wolf form was mired in feral strength with its strong limbs, thick white coat, and beastly violet eyes. She was as monstrous as a direwolf but the familiar humanity he knew was clearly visible within her form's eyes.

It almost intimidated him, he thought - although in silent admiration. "Are you alright?"

Closing its eyes, the wolf winced through its jaws as she transformed back into a human, the icy winds of the tundra whipping her gold hair against her face, her cloak shielding her from the intruding cold. "I'm fine," She nodded, brushing off the snow from her kimono's lap as she stood. "Your timing was impeccable, as always. Thank you."

Sensing a set of eyes watching them on the tundra's boundary behind them, she glanced towards the ghostly figure that stepped towards them through the snow. From the cover of the white winds, a wolf with piercing lilac eyes approached cautiously, pausing before her. A Yamamori clansmen, she thought - and not a minute too soon. Glancing into its beastly eyes, she nodded towards it.

"Take the child and return to the others," She commanded, her eyes narrowed. "We can handle this one."

Turning its head towards the adversary in the distance, the wolf snarled at the armored figure through its jaws. As the child shivered from the cold, the wolf drew its attention to the boy. As they met glances, the wolf allowed the child to climb onto its back, grasping onto its thick coat of white. Within an instant, they disappeared into the invisible lands of the frosted tundra – away from the battle at hand.

Stepping beside her, Gaara paused, his gaze narrowing into a suspicious glare towards the enemy ahead. Watching him stand in the snow at her side, she turned to him as her breath evaporated into the cold air. "Nomasaki," He began, his tone stern. "You said the mountain and snow provides defence from invaders… Why was Yama so easily ambushed back then?" Slightly alarmed by his question, she felt her chest pound with the thought. "I can tell by looking at you that you may know why, but for some reason you're unsure."

Turning back to the foe, she narrowed her eyes in suspicious disbelief. "You're right," She replied. "I… always thought it was strange how it all happened. But," Looking to Gaara, her expression turned serious. "Whoever was the leader of Ishigakure at the time, must have been familiar with the terrain… or at least, been to Yama before. If they were somehow related to this mercenary, I wouldn't be surprised."

"In that case," He answered, his gaze locked onto their enemy. "We must capture this one alive. There's a possibility that this one is also a missing-nin from Ishi, just as the assassin we encountered years before. I'll seal him with my jutsu, and then we'll take him to Zenken-sama for questioning."

"I'll draw him out," She spoke, preparing herself to make the charge. "My fighting style is best for close combat or mid-range, while your strength is long-ranged attacks. I can take care of this-,"

"We'll take care of this," He replied. "Together."

Catching her attention, she heard his stance solidify into the snow below. Turning to him, she gave him a nod as a light smile painted in comfort formed upon her lips. Looking back towards the enemy, her eyes narrowed into a glare marked in ferality.

"Follow my lead!"

In a quick moment, she shifted her skin into a coat of white, dashing towards the mysterious enemy as he began to draw his katana in response. As the wolf bounded across the tundra, its jaws echoed a vicious bark.

Causing the very air to fall silent.

* * *

 _ **Notes:** _Song recommendation / / "Grá" by Wardruna


	45. From the Ashes

**Chapter 45  
** **From the Ashes**

* * *

Lunging forward, the wolf leapt upon them.

Claws marking the white earth of the tundra, the wolf exchanged blows with the unknown enemy in ferocity, while the foe danced in the snow wielding his katana in attempt to slash the beast. From their blind-spot, they suddenly entered into the path of sand – Gaara's jutsu from a distance away – his arm gesturing towards the foe as a narrowed glare was locked onto his target. Firing towards the foe as if bullets of impenetrable force, they struck the land near the armored foe but failed to make a direct hit. With a bark and a leap with fangs and claws ready, the wolf found an opening. Latching onto the foe's dominant arm, she sank her jaws onto him – ripping the sword out from his hand. As the foe struggled, he formed a hand-sign with his other palm – alerting the beast. Releasing him from its grip, the wolf retreated as a lightning-release jutsu was ready to strike her down.

Evading the lightning blast, Nomasaki emerged from the snowy debris of the impact human and holding the enemy's katana in her blood-soaked palm, gripping it tightly. While she watched the foe form another hand-sign as his blood dotted the white tundra at his feet, she narrowed her eyes in preparation for a counter. Dashing towards him in the snow, she saw the stream of lightning headed her way. By a hair, she dodged the brunt of the attack, flipping her body as if in a cartwheel while she continued her advances.

Jolting her, she saw a path of flame headed directly towards her. Striking her heart with the fear she hid behind her eyes, she evaded the fire as it was shot across the tundra, melting the layers of earthen ice in its wake. Even years later, the sight of fire still unnerved her. She hated fire. Gritting her teeth, she dashed from the oncoming flames in a haze of powdered white. Forcefully, a large wall of sand suddenly appeared between them, the orange flames halted by the grains that blocked its pathway to destruction. Whipping her head towards him, she saw Gaara keeping a watchful eye on their foe, countering his flames with his sand as effortlessly as he was skilled. Growing frustrated, their armor-clad foe shot forth another lightning-release attack.

"Damn you!"

Forcefully, a large wave of sand crept behind the foe, striking the oncoming lightning blasts – halting the onslaught of approaching threats. Skidding to a stop in the snow, she arched her arm into position – throwing the katana towards the enemy as he was preoccupied by Gaara's attacks. Forming hand-signs quickly, she slammed her palms together – taking in a deep breath.

"Secret Art! Howling Wind!"

As she opened her fanged jaws, a powerful gust of wind erupted from her, a loud piercing howl echoing across the tundra as the wind struck the blade and spiraled around it – propelling the katana tenfold towards its intended target with a mighty thrust. Striking through his abdomen with the gnash of his bloodied teeth, the foe was thrown across the tundra a great distance – his body crashing into the snow at his back.

Gaara saw his chance.

Quickly, he formed the hand-sign's for his sealing jutsu, moving his palms towards the impaled foe - directing his small resource of sand to finish the battle. As his sand surrounded the armored enemy and covered all evidence of his presence, he formed the final hand-sign. Within moments, sealing tags and inscriptions appeared over his sand's tomb. The movement from their mysterious enemy had stopped.

Cautiously, Nomasaki looked on with a furrow – unable to detect the foe's presence any longer. Walking towards Gaara, she paused as she stood close to him, her feet crunching on the harsh lands of the tundra beneath her. At last, their invaders were defeated.

"Can you sense him?" Gaara asked, watching her cautious gaze towards the sand.

"No," She answered, turning to him. "His chakra disappeared all of the sudden." Meeting his gaze in the wind and flurries, she gave a light smile. "We make a pretty good team."

Smiling back, he nodded once towards her. In less than an hour of combat, they took care of the approaching threat to the quiet mountain village in the north. Luckily for the foe, his life was not yet ended as the sealing of the sand entraps the foe beneath the sand-ridden tomb within an air pocket that can be sustained for days – although his limbs are constricted and near to the point of breakage from the immense pressure exerted. Within half a days' journey, their captive would reach Zenken of Ishigakure for questioning – and they could get to the bottom of the invasion once and for all.

Suddenly, her senses rang through her with an alarming force. Alerting them, they directed their attention back to the mound of sand across from them on the tundra. Slowly, the foe emerged from his prison, the blade still visibly impaled through his stomach as he pulled himself out from the sands. To their shock, the exhausted foe emerged from the sand and glared towards them. Swallowed by the sands was his dominant arm she struck earlier, his armor plating absent as the fabric of his bleeding arm lay swaying in the snowy winds. Upon his exposed and bloodied chest was an eerie inscription written on his red tunic - 'Tenbu'.

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, she prepared to once again face the enemy as his dwindling chakra entered her senses. "Gaara, I have a bad feeling about this enemy."

"What do you mean?" He asked, turning to her with narrowed eyes. "What do you sense?"

As she narrowed her glare towards the panting foe, her mouth formed a small snarl as her canines began to grow within her jaws. By examining the state of their opponent, the sight of him to her was truly disturbing – her instincts agreeing. "He's still standing."

"So… It's come to this…"

Missing an arm, and heavily bleeding, the enemy glared upon them, alerting them to his attention. "I'm not allowing you to capture me alive! Tenbu will rise from the ashes!" Suddenly, the man ripped open his remaining chest armor, revealing many paper bombs attached to his body. Upon seeing the enemy's motive, Gaara paused his forming jutsu, his expression wide-eyed and shocked. The foe's dark eyes glaring at them, a sinister grin painted his expression under his cracked mask. "May the Kazekage clan disappear into the sands of time! The Kumatsume will rise again!"

As the enemy formed the detonation hand-sign, Gaara appeared before Nomasaki within an instant – his hands directing his remaining sand towards them. In a matter of seconds, a massive sand shield cocooned them from the oncoming blast of fire and death. Clutching his arms close, she knelt down with him as he shielded her with his sand and body – acting as if subconsciously to protect one another.

With a loud and rumbling thunder, the blast erupted onto the ice-covered grounds – scorching the frozen earth.

When the debris settled, the sand slowly returned into the containment of Gaara's gourd at his side as the two stood up. Letting go, she took a few steps in the snow towards the smoking crater, her lilac eyes full of shock, confusion, and uncertainty. While he stood before the charred remains of their hostage, Gaara looked on with a suspicious glare to the enemy's parting words – ' _May the Kazekage clan disappear into the sands of time_ '. Haunted by his words, the two exchanged a glance of concern – unaware of what 'Tenbu' would mean in their future.

"The enemy," She said, her voice in shock. "He just… committed suicide."

Not answering back to her voice, he stood in silence with a narrowed glare towards the black earth upon the icy lands.

He was their target.

* * *

Thankfully, Yama was fortunate enough to avoid another invasion.

During the midday sun, the citizens of Yama began to slowly emerge from their homes and bunker – realizing their threat had not arrived in the village that day. As the snow softly fell, the Yama ninja soon reported to their chieftain of the events on the tundra while the Suna shinobi regrouped with another – the voices of the villagers dancing upon the frigid winds as panic soon dissipated. Fortunately, there was no use of combat from Suna – aside from the Kazekage's sealing jutsu. Once more, Yamagakure survived to live another day.

"Seems like you were right."

Catching his attention, Gaara turned. Standing by the worn village gates, Kankuro stood beside his younger brother, his warm dark cloak upon his shoulders in the cold – watching the state of Yama return to normal. "We didn't need help from Suna after all," He said. "That was handled pretty fast, if I don't say so myself." Glancing at his younger brother, a smirk appeared on his painted face. "It must've been easy for you."

Closing his eyes, Gaara gave a small smile in response – their breath visible on the icy winds. "Actually, I didn't do anything. It was Nomasaki that protected Yama."

Surprised, Kankuro turned to him. "What? Really?"

Nodding, Gaara directed his gaze towards the village road before them, watching Nomasaki reunite the boy with his mother in the distance. "She had everything handled herself," He spoke, a tinge of pride on his tone. "I cornered the leader with her, but nothing more."

"You don't say!" Kankuro gasped, surprised yet in a joking manner. "That's a first for you, anyways."

His eyes narrowing as he looked at the snow below, he remembered the encounter with their mysterious foe – his actions, his words, and his death. "However, the leader committed suicide before we could seal him… so we can't interrogate him on his motives. Also-,"

Curiously, Kankuro turned to his younger brother, catching wind of his change in tone. "What is it?"

Meeting his glance, Gaara looked at him stern-eyed. "The enemy… he said something along the lines of 'Tenbu'… as if he belonged to a group of that name."

"'Tenbu'? Never heard of them. Do you think they could be terrorists?"

"The enemy said _'May the Kazekage clan disappear into the sands of time'_... I think we may have been the targets… not Yama." His glance trailing towards the snow, his eyes narrowed in thought. "Kumatsume... what did that mean?"

"Kumatsume?" Kankuro repeated. "Is that a clan name?"

"Not sure, and I'm not looking forward to finding that out." Gaara said. "Yamagakure is a village again, there's no surprise they already have enemies... but we should avoid war if all possible. I'll send word to Zenken-sama about this and see what intel he can provide... and claim his fealty to the peace treaty we signed years past."

"Understood." Kankuro nodded. "And of the Yamamori? Were they after them - those invaders?"

"It's hard to say... they seemed to be after me, judging by their attacks. We won't know for sure until further investigation... so it's in our best interest to keep this quiet until we hear from Ishigakure. The council doesn't know I'm gone, and I've already had my fill of them from that betrothal nonsense..."

"Kazekage-sama,"

Turning towards the voice, they saw Kyo standing before them with his cane in tow. "Thank you for your help," He spoke, bowing his head to them. "Without you here, who knows what would have transpired. Which reminds me," Stepping closer to the young Kazekage, his hazel eyes narrowed. "If Suna would be open to an alliance with Yama, we would honor that highly. Yamagakure has always been independent from the Five Nations. Due to isolation, we're often overlooked. Being that our borders are close, we would honor an alliance treaty in case our peace is once again threatened."

"I can bring this up to the council when we return to Suna," Gaara nodded, his expression stoic and stern. "Rest assured, Yama can always trust in Suna."

Warmly, Kyo smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama."

"Kyo-sama," Gaara began. "Those invaders... have you heard anything about the Kumatsume? They included that name in their spiel before detonating a suicide blast."

"Kumatsume clan, you mean?" Kyo said, his hazel eyes narrowing from the name. "They were once a clan bound to the Land of Claws, and often fought against the Yamamori clan in the past. But they have since been banished by their daimyo following a coup in Ishigakure quite a few years back, I heard."

"Banished?"

Kyo nodded. "Since the last seven years, it seems. The previous chieftain of Ishi was of that clan, and when he was exiled, his clansmen were as well."

"I see..." His suspicions were not eased from the news. Seven years - that was how long ago it was since the day Yamagakure was burned where it stood. When he found Nomasaki collapsed and near death in the desert. Something did not settle right within his thoughts. "Well, in that case - send me any information your village can gather on this issue - and that clan. That will be our first act as allies, between Suna and Yama."

With a subtle nod, Kyo gave him the glance of a leader. His face was unbroken, firm as iron. "As you say, Kazekage-sama. I will send an owl when the deed is done."

"Are you sure about this?" Kankuro asked, watching cautiously as the chieftain walked off. "We can't be planning to fight another war on their behalf."

"We're not," Gaara answered, meeting his eyes. "But if we're their targets as well, having all the information we can on Tenbu and that clan would be beneficial."

"Damn it..." Kankuro muttered under his icy breath. "Just when things seemed fairly peaceful... but this is how things go in the shinobi world, after all." Jolting his thoughts, he turned back to his brother. "Would it be worth asking Nomasaki about them? She was here when they first attacked."

"She was a child when that happened," Gaara reminded. "All she can remember was their armor, and everything else she can't recall. It had a beast engraved on it."

"A beast?" Kankuro repeated, smirking lightly. "Having one clan of beasts is bad enough already... I don't even want to think of there being a second -?"

Following his brother's gaze, they saw the silhouette of a large wolf stepping through the frosted trees behind the child. Its ghost-like figure moved calmly under the brush, its purple eyes gleaming from the cold sun. With tears of joy, the boy beamed towards his mother while a white wolf followed close behind him. Its paws crunching into the snow as it came to a stop, the wolf released a subtle wince from its muzzle as a mountain wind blew past. From the movement of the winds, the wolf rescinded into the human form it knew best. With a light smile upon her soft face while comforted by the warmth of her cloak, Nomasaki stood before them in the village street that was blanketed in white and silver.

"Mommy!"

Shocked by the voice, the bandaged woman turned around. Overcome with emotion, she wailed with tears as her child leapt into her warm arms. Holding him close, her tears flowed down her bandaged cheeks as she fell to her knees in the snow.

"Oh, Yuki!" She cried, her eyes filled with tears as she closed them. "Thank heavens!"

Gently, Nomasaki smiled at them as she knelt before them, observing the touching moment between mother and child. In a way, she was reminded of her mother's love for her – the tenderness of the parental bond moving her. After wiping her tears away with her sleeve, the woman looked up to face her.

"Thank you, for rescuing my son. I'm forever grateful!"

"No need to thank me." She smiled warmly. "I was just doing my part as a Yamamori. We guard the mountains, and protect them."

Remembering their previous encounter, the woman looked down in shame, her expression guilty and saddened. Unlike her misconceptions, the wolf who helped her was visibly kind and no threat to her or the village. Fear for the wolves was motivated only by superstition and hatred of the past – Yama was in a new age of rebirth, and her thoughts on the clan were indeed incorrect. It was not a monster who stood before her, and her guilt swelled from meeting her kind eyes.

"R-Right…" The woman nodded, averting her glance. "I'm sorry… for being scared earlier…" Meeting her lilac eyes, she could not see any evidence of a ferocious beast but a human just like her. "I was wrong to judge… forgive me."

"Mom, you should've seen her!" The boy beamed with a wide grin. "She fought the bad-guy like it was nothing! Wolves are so cool!"

Softly, Nomasaki smiled at the child's words and his mother, humbled by their gratitude. Sensing the two Suna brothers behind her waiting, she stood up and turned towards them – meeting the friendly and gesturing glance of Kankuro who visibly wanted to return home at long last. Silently, Gaara stood beside him with a stoic expression – alerting her to say her goodbyes. Looking back to the mother and child, she bowed her head in a slight and gratuitous gesture.

"I'll come visit soon," She assured, softly. "Take care."

As she turned around and started on her way, the boy jumped up and waved his hand – smiling widely at her as he sat upon his nurturing mother's lap. "Bye!"

Her footsteps crunching upon the snow beneath, she met up with the two brothers at the exit, pausing before them within the subtle snowfall. Meeting their glances, she smiled in her friendly nature. From arriving in a fit of upset, to requiting her love for the Kazekage, to meeting the Uchiha, to fending off the attackers - her stay in the reborn Yamagakure had certainly been an unpredictable one. Strangely enough, she found herself missing her tiny apartment back in the sand-ridden alleyway. It warmed her.

"Shall we get going?" She asked. "I've been away from home for too long."

Gaara smiled at her, proud and in admiration. From their battle earlier, it was clear that the woman he confessed his love to was indeed a force to be reckoned with - and was unbelievably kind. The more he thought of it, the more the knowledge warmed him in the bitter frost of the mountains. He knew he made the right decision. Putting aside the suspicion he held for the invaders who met them on the tundra, he started down the mountain path.

"Let's be on our way," He said. "Before I have to pardon you a second time."

With a blushing smile, she nodded, following behind him as Kankuro walked beside her. As the snow continued to fall upon the mountainside, the three Suna shinobi embarked on their journey to their village.

Home…


	46. A Night in Suna

**Chapter 46  
** **A Night in Suna**

* * *

Silently and without question, things have resumed to normal in Suna after the events in the Land of Mountains.

As the dead of winter reached its end, the Suna Council hosted its annual meeting with the ANBU and tracking unit to discuss the changing village security that came with the gratuitous peaceful times of post-war conflicts. One early morning within the council meeting chambers, the Kazekage sat before his council with the leaders of their respective organizations – the silent ANBU leader concealed by his cloth shroud and an empty seat for Commander Moro of the Suna tracking unit. Moments before the meeting could begin, a masked shinobi entered the room after a polite knock and apology for their tardiness. As Gaara watched the tracker-nin take their seat, he could see the glint of their lilac eyes through their wolfish mask – Nomasaki. Although it has been weeks since their confession upon the mountaintop, their contact with another had been scarce due to both of their professions catching up to them – an influx of missions for Nomasaki, while in his case it was a growing pile of paperwork. With his face painted with a calm and stoic expression, he kept his feelings to himself while he listened to the ongoing meeting.

"So, in summary," A councilman reading the reports sighed. "The village is indeed secure with these peaceful times, but at the same time there is also room for improvements."

"What do you suggest?" Gaara asked, glancing at the faces sitting at the chamber's round table. "As respective organizations that keep Suna secure, we would highly value any input you may have."

As the silent ANBU leader reflected to himself, he slowly lifted himself from his seat – the gleam of his dark eyes meeting the young Kazekage across from him. "I'd like the Suna ANBU to have more of a strong presence at the gates and mansion entrance, as well as the main roads. That way, we can stop stressing about the outside and focus on maintaining order on the inside of our walls and borders." He said, catching the attention of the councilmen before them. "Our recruitment has also slowed down, so we would like to ask for additional funds to support that."

Watching the ANBU leader return to his seat, one of the councilmen eyed the masked tracker-nin beside the shrouded leader. Looking at her as if in a condescending manner, the essence of dismay was upon his tone. "What say you, proxy?" He began. "I take it Moro-sama had more important matters to attend to?"

"Yes," She nodded, her violet eyes meeting his gaze in calm retaliation from the menacing shape of her mask. "Moro-sama is currently on tracking unit-business, so he sent me in his stead." Looking towards the rest of the council, she stood from her seat as her calm voice reached every attendee – with Gaara listening closely to what she had to offer. "I suggest the same with the tracking unit, in regards to funds for furthering our recruitment. We're running low on shinobi as it is, so being able to hire the man-power would be much appreciated."

Reflecting to himself for a moment, Gaara gave a subtle nod towards the councilmen sitting in on the meeting. Standing before them, he placed his arms crossed behind his back, giving them a stoic expression in recognition. "Thank you all for your input. This meeting is adjourned."

* * *

After the meeting was finished, Nomasaki found herself summoned to his office shortly after once all the councilmen resumed their normal duties. Alone, she stood before him with a curious tint to her eyes behind her porcelain shroud – meeting his gaze that she could feel was carrying slight nervousness, which was much unlike him, she thought to herself.

"You sent for me, Kazekage-sama?" She asked, her voice calm and dutiful.

Averting his glance slightly as he sat in his chair, he focused on the growing amounts of paperwork on his desk. Hearing her call him by his formal title was becoming strange to him and offered the tinge of uncomfortable to his senses – reminding him of their changed statuses to each other since their time in Yama.

"You don't have to address me here," He said. "This is for… a domestic issue, not tracking-related."

Meeting her eyes as he turned to face her, he examined the detail to their beast-like mask. The red markings upon it mired her in mystery while its shape gave clue into who or what she truly was – a wolf of the desert. Finding amusement in her surprised glance towards him, he focused his undivided attention towards her.

"You can take your mask off."

Snapping off its hold from her face with the click of its strap, she moved her strands of gold from her vision so she could see him clearly. Going without her mask was still quite an adjustment for her, as well as meeting with the village leader behind closed doors.

"My bad," She apologized, chuckling lightly to herself – holding her porcelain mask at her side. "I'm just so used to wearing it while on duty."

"I noticed you're Moro-sama's proxy. He must have great trust in you for the unit."

"Yeah. He's promoted me to his right-hand recently, so I've been busy on all fronts for the last while."

"I see. That's good. Your sensory skills are among the best in Suna, so they shouldn't go unnoticed."

Her glance becoming slightly nervous as she could feel the air of midday approach, she gave him a timid smile. "Not to sound rude, but I have a mission soon, so I'm running short on time. Was there something you needed from me?"

Catching his attention, he remembered why he called her into his office in the first place. Jarring his memory, he leaned back in his seat while he felt his hand flinch on its armrest. As he met her curious eyes of lilacs, he could feel his heart pound in his chest – startling him as he attempted to appear calm and collected. Surprising her slightly, she watched him approach her, pausing before her as she looked up to meet his ringed-eyes.

"Yes, well…" He began, his tone quiet, averting his glance to his side as he scratched the back of his head for a distraction. "When we were in Konoha a few weeks back, you said you wanted to ' _make up for last time_ '…" As his face began to feel hot, he let his arms rest at his sides and eyed her with an expression of uncertain nervousness – a side of him rarely seen by others, including her. "Would you… want to… try that?"

Jolting from his words, her cheeks reddened as she took in his request. Timidly, she smiled up at him. "S-Sure," She nodded, her answer surprising him in silent relief. "I should be back from my assignment this evening. Would that be alright?"

"Yeah," He nodded back, a soft smile on his lips – his nervousness receding. "I'll be finished up here around the same time."

After sharing a brief smile, she realized her strict schedule was creeping up on her. As she saw the midday sun beam through the window, she secured her wolfish mask back onto her guise. "I better get going, my assignment is about to start." She spoke, forming a hand-sign with her right hand. "I'll see you tonight!"

Within an instant, she vanished within the cover of a cloud of smoke – all evidence of her presence disappearing from his office as if in a wisp of the winds. As he stood in silence once he was alone, he soon realized what was to come in his future – and he needed advice on the matter as soon as possible.

* * *

Making his way to his siblings' living quarters after his work was finished, Gaara happened upon his older brother. Sitting on the floor fixing one of his many puppet projects that early evening, Kankuro turned to him as he heard the door close – catching his brief attention. Tired from his previous mission, the evidence of exhaustion was evident in his darkened eyes.

"Oi, Gaara," He said, raising a brow at his unexpected arrival home. "What's up?"

"Kankuro, I need... help."

"Help? With what, exactly? It's not like you to suddenly approach with something out of the blue like this."

His nervousness becoming apparent, Kankuro could sense the urgency faintly on his flustered expression. Pausing on his puppet after he tightened the last bolt, he placed his tools aside and examined his younger brother's nervousness – intriguing him yet striking him as suspiciously curious at the same time. It was unheard of to see him this way, he thought.

"I… I'm going -," Gaara began, averting his glance. "On a…-,"

"Yeah?" Kankuro pressed, confused. "Going where?"

"…date."

Springing up from his seated position on the carpeted floor, Kankuro grinned ear to ear as he stood before his timid-appearing sibling. "Ah, so you've finally mustered up the courage! It's Nomasaki, right? I mean, you did go to Yama just for her."

"Actually," Gaara fumbled, averting his gaze as he scratched the back of his head. "She was the one who asked… first. I just… reminded her."

"Wha-?! Really?!" Kankuro stammered, in shocked admiration. "That's brave of her! You aren't exactly the approachable type when it comes to this stuff."

Raising a non-existent brow, Gaara narrowed his eyes at him in a questioning nature. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, uh…" Kankuro sighed to himself at his brother's naivety. "You're very hard to read, you're also the Kazekage, so that's intimidating… And you don't understand women -,"

"What makes women so different?"

"Uh… No worries, I can help! Consider me your wingman!"

Confused by the term, Gaara was unsure of what it meant. "Wingman?"

"Ugh,"

Walking into the living room, Temari entered into the conversation, dismayed and humored at her younger brother's attempt at seeming like a lady's man – knowing of all of his past failures and misconceptions of women. Drawing their attention from her disappointed groan, they both turned towards her narrowed green eyes and crossed arms against her torso.

"Kankuro," She scoffed. "You've been on how many dates and not lasted in a single relationship?"  
"It's not like I haven't been trying!" Kankuro barked back. "Suna women are so -,"

Shooting him a bitter and angry glare, Temari whipped her head towards him. "Say it, Kankuro! I dare you!" Flinching from her sudden reaction, Kankuro stopped talking – rightfully so. Sighing, she directed her attention to Gaara, who remained innocent in the respect of relationships. "Gaara, dating is very complicated and requires lots of preparation. Kankuro doesn't know what he's talking about… which is why I'll be helping you brush up on your etiquette! I can't afford to see you screw up with Nomasaki!"

Grabbing him by the wrist, she started down the hallway of their residence – surprising him from her sudden gesture and guide.

"Uh, Temari?" He began, confused and slightly nervous. "What are you-?"

"You're going to get ready!"

* * *

Nearly an hour later, Gaara found himself sitting on a chair before his siblings near their bedrooms in the foyer. With a slightly uncomfortable expression on his pale face, he sat reluctantly before them with his crimson hair combed to the side and gelled and dressed in his burgundy jacket and pants – his gourd of sand noticeably absent. Not being used to his hair combed so strictly, he messed to its normal state it by running his hand through it.

"So… what exactly do I… do on one of these?"

"Talk about your interests!" Temari smiled. "Find something on common ground to talk about to break the ice. It's usually the hardest part. Conversation is very important."

"Well," He pondered. "I really like breeding cacti and botany. There's a species that grows in the Land of Frost she might be interested in, since she likes the cold."

"I don't think she's really into plants that much, Gaara." She sighed, slightly embarrassed by his naivety. "But you can try it." Leaning in closer, her expression turned serious, glaring at him slightly. "Also be sure to compliment her! Make her feel comfortable. And most importantly, treat her with respect! Got it?"

"Got it."

Nodding in agreement, Kankuro closed his eyes, placing his hands on his hips. "And pay for her meal."

"She's a shinobi on a tracker salary," Gaara stated, standing up. "Is there a reason for her not to?"

"No, no," Kankuro explained. "Gaara, the guy has to pay on the date. That's how things work. It's being polite."

Temari glared at him, visibly annoyed. "That is totally not how things work!" She snarled towards him while Gaara witnessed their feud. "If she wants to pay, she can pay!"

"But she shouldn't pay because that would be disrespectful to Gaara's offer!"

"If she wants to pay, she has every right to do so! She doesn't owe him chivalry!"

Sensing their ongoing feud, Gaara backed off, heading towards the doorway as he realized the time. "I'm going to leave now," He interrupted. "Thanks for the… advice."

* * *

It was not before long that nightfall soon approached, with the orange desert sun retreating beyond the cover of the clay cliffs that surrounded the village. Sitting at a bench-like table alone, Gaara waited for her to show up to the barbeque storefront – the decision on their meeting location based upon how they both knew they ate meat, and it was strikingly similar to the place they ate together that time in Konoha. Evening had just gone by and the night was evident as the village streets began to go silent with clatter and hum with nightlife. While the crowds slowly dissipated, he looked towards the entrance – a rush of familiarity striking his vision. Making her way towards him, Nomasaki gave him a timid smile as they met eye contact that night.

"Sorry I'm late," She apologized, taking her seat across from him at the table. "My mission took a little longer than expected."

"No worries," He nodded, lightly smiling at her presence. "You're right on time."

Relieved, she smiled at his words. Looking into her lilac eyes across from him, he could feel his face begin to redden – the reality sinking in of what was happening. Temari's suggestion echoed in his mind as he pondered what to say – ' _Also, be sure to compliment her_ '. As he looked at her timid and excited expression, he noticed her gold hair was neatly combed and soft, and she was wearing her favorite blue kimono-like dress, its white trim along its collar drawing his attention.

"You look… really good."

"O-Oh," She stammered, blushing from his observation. "T-Thank you."

Moments passed while they sat in shared conversation with each other, unaware of the bustling nightlife outside of their stall. "So," He started, thinking carefully of his words – once they were finished of their meals. "Forgive me if I never asked, but… what are your interests?"

Curiously, she looked up at him from her bowl. "Interests?" She repeated, poking her chin with her chopsticks. "I like to read. Fantasy novels are my favorite. I like being outside and nature because… well, you know… my 'wolf' thing."

Cautiously, he made his move. "Do you… like cacti?"

"Cacti?"

Upon seeing him nod in response, she smiled. "I think they're neat plants." She chuckled to herself. "I like the one that was just found in the Land of Frost, with the blue blossoms."

Surprised and relieved of her answer, his expression became filled with relief - he found his common ground, as Temari told him earlier. "Really? That's great!" He spoke, enthusiastically. "I've started breeding cacti in my spare time, so I'm researching more into hybrid species. The Land of Frost species is one I'm currently reading up on."

"That's so cool!" She smiled, almost as excited as he was. "I never knew you were into botany. Do you breed them often?"

Averting his glance for a moment, he gave a small smile to himself to mask his faintly evident blushing. "If I wasn't Kazekage, I'd be a botanist." He said, humble. "I'm… still trying my hand at botany, though, when I have free time."

* * *

As they stood outside the shop to pay for their meals, she passed the cashier some bills and coin before he had a chance to even reach for his wallet – surprising him for a moment.

"Thank you! Have a good evening!"

Once the server left, they started down the dimly lit village street together, walking side by side as the neon signs illuminated their path. "You didn't have to pay for the meal." He spoke, turning to her.

"I wanted to!" She smiled, walking beside him. "Just because you're the Kazekage doesn't mean I'll let you foot the bill every time." As she looked at his surprised and flustered expression from her response, her face turned bright red. Turning away, she tried to brush it off. "I-I mean… Next time, I'll pay. For the both of us."

Stopping by the park outside the plaza, they sat on a bench under a streetlight while the sounds of rowdy villagers at sake bars echoed in the ambience of the night around them – it was peaceful, almost. Sitting next to each other, there was still an awkward space between them – both being unsure of how to overcome the nerve to sit comfortably close together.

"Listen… Nomasaki," He started, looking across from where they sat. "I care about you, and I want to be with you." Glancing to his side, he played out his words carefully – allowing himself to become temporarily vulnerable. "I've never done anything like this before, so… I would like to take things slow, if that's alright with you."

Slightly surprised from his request, she smiled timidly. "O-Of course," She nodded. "I understand."

"Were you…" His words trailed, becoming troubled by the thought. Scratching the back of his head as he averted his gaze from her, he brought himself to ask the question. "Is this… your first date?"

Alarmed by his question, she felt her fingers flinch upon her lap – surprised and unsure of how to answer. Looking down, she gave a guilty smile. "Actually, no… I was… set-up on a blind date once."

"You were?"

Meeting his wide eyes, she met his glance with a sigh in embarrassment – her expression hiding her discontent with an air of calm. Remembering how she was lured by her friend to a date with a total stranger, she grimaced at the thought of how uncomfortable she was during the ordeal. "Meiyumi thought I was too lonely after I quit my job as your assistant, so she went out of her way to lure me to an unsuspecting date with a fellow shinobi. He was nice. He talked a lot, even though I didn't because I wasn't too invested. I was more scared than anything. And when he realized who I was…-"

In her mind, the young man's stammered yells rang through her ears as she remembered him cowardly standing from their table and bolting for the exit - making a public scene that late night months ago.

* * *

" _Y-You're the…! You're the w-wolf!?"  
_

" _Yes?"  
_

" _I-I… g-gotta go, see you around!"_

* * *

Sighing awkwardly, she closed her eyes in embarrassment. "He basically ran."

Looking down at the ground at his feet and averting his glance, he closed his eyes halfway in understanding – feeling bad for asking her the question in the first place. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," She assured. "I was kind of glad he was gone, although he didn't have to flee from the restaurant like he did…" Averting her glance, she timidly smiled to herself. "Also, I… couldn't get past my crush on you, so I was interested in someone else anyways." Her hands gripping the bench tighter, she prepared herself for what she was going to tell him as she looked down at her lap. "If I can make a confession, I've… loved you for a long time."

Surprised, he turned to her, their eyes once again meeting in the night. "How long?"

"Remember that time you saved me from the assassin during our mission to Ishigakure?" Upon seeing him nod, she smiled warmly. "I've had feelings for you ever since."

For a moment, his eyes widened from her confession. All those years. Looking down, he smiled gently to himself - Hanone was right after all.

"But I was afraid you thought I was weird," She sighed. "I'm awkward, anxious, and I'm a wolf… so for a long time, I thought you deserved better."

Leaning forward, he gazed ahead into the streets, his turquoise eyes narrowing, sadly, almost. "Trust me, I'm the weird one," He corrected. "I was a jinchuriki with a… dark past. I'm from the Kazekage clan, and I'm the Fifth Kazekage."

"But you had the fangirls, remember?" She chuckled. "They were amusing to watch, when I was your assistant back then."

"I did?"

"You didn't notice?" Looking up at the night sky, she smiled. "Well, that's kind of you. It's also nice to know they grew out of it."

"Also," He started. "I… had feelings for you, for a while."

Her cheeks tinted pink in the night, she looked at him with her lilac eyes wide and amazed. "R-Really?"

After giving her a nod, he looked up at the stars, and her gaze soon followed his. "It was the same moment as you. Since that mission we had together, before the Fourth Shinobi War. When I… ran to protect you." Turning to her beside him, his ringed-eyes gazed at her in a protective nature as he felt the words leave his lips - the truth finally slipping out. "That's when I realized."

Softly, a light stream of sand moved her hand to his as they sat on the bench together. Startling her slightly from its touch, she glanced at him then to their hands upon the cold cobble bench. Noticing his gesture of closeness, she smiled warmly to herself as her eyes closed halfway, accepting his affection.

"May I… walk you home?" He asked, turning to her. "It's getting late."

A gentle expression upon her face, she nodded. "Yeah, I would like that."

* * *

While midnight soon made its approach, they reached the steps towards her apartment building outside the village plaza. Standing before the doorway of the alleyway complex, Gaara looked at her with a warm yet timid expression.

"Let's do this again… sometime." He spoke.

"Yes, of course!" She nodded, softly smiling. "Um," Turning to her door as she found her keys in her satchel, she looked back to his curious glance. "Did you… want to come inside?"

Slightly catching him off guard, he was surprised by her offer. He was never inside her home before, not even for a casual visit. The thought made him nervous, although he knew he had to sooner or later. "I should be heading back. I have tasks I must do early in the morning. Chunin exams are arriving, so I have to help out on that front."

"Okay," She nodded. "Well, I'm turning in for the night. I'll be seeing you."

Stepping towards her apartment door, she turned back to him, meeting his curious and confused glance from his ringed-eyes as she paused before him with a timid expression painted on her porcelain face. Surprising him, she gently kissed his cheek as they stood upon her step. Meeting his gaze as they parted ways, she warmly smiled.

"Goodnight!"

Turning swiftly, she entered her apartment, closing the door behind her. Stunned and faintly blushing from what happened, he placed his hand on the cheek she kissed.

"G… Goodnight."

* * *

Once he got home that late night, he retired to his darkened bedroom at the end of the corridor in his family's residence.

In the spacious room, cacti littered the windowsill and dresser, while books were scattered in every crevice and shelf possible. On his bed, he looked up at the worn ceiling above, his arms folded behind his head while he thought about the events fresh in his mind – Yama, the mysterious armored assassin, and his realized love for his former assistant and confidante.

As the moonlight lit the room, he looked at his open palm for a moment, the light fragments grazing his fingers. The memory of his hand in hers entering his mind, he remembered how soft and delicate her fingers were, how she flinched at the first touch, and how she accepted the gesture willingly. Returning his hand behind his head on the pillow where he would have troubled sleeps, he gazed back to the ceiling. He closed his eyes halfway, gently smiling to himself.

"A wolf, huh?"

That night, he lay awake from his scattered insomnia, waiting for his next chance to see her again…

* * *

 _ **Notes:**_ Song recommendation / / "A Werewolf" by Attic Basement


	47. An Invitation

**Chapter 47  
** **An Invitation**

* * *

Each sweep of the broom seemed to find more and more sand, forming a disordered bundle of debris and filth.

Grimacing at the mess, Nomasaki sighed as she fixed the pile with her sweeps, making sure not to make the existing mess worse. Despite the dry season being a merciful time with the cooler desert winds, with those winds brought more sands from the surrounding dustbowl of the village. Above the sun was clouded by the dust-ridden plumes, darkening the land in intervals that seemed to last hours. Appearing as if the end of the world was upon them, the high desert sun managed to break through scarcely as the dust continued to circle in the skies. It was a usual sight in winter, she remembered, sweeping the last bits of grains into the pile on her balcony. It was not that she disliked sand, but she thought it was coarse, itchy, and got itself everywhere. She wondered how Gaara felt about it – being as constant with the sand as he was. Even when holding his hand, she could feel the grains laced between his fingers. Only his warmth made up for the discomfort.

"So much sand…" She sighed to herself. "It is the dry season, I guess…"

Gathering the dust into her pan, she made her way down the exposed clay stairwell of her apartment and emptied its contents into the large dumpster. Closing the wooden latch with a thud, she dropped the pan and turned calmly towards the back of the alleyway. Her violet eyes were alert but stern, narrowed towards the chakra that was lurking behind the walls.

"You can come out of hiding. I know you're there."

Leaping out from above the stucco buildings of the alley, a renegade dressed in mismatched soiled garbs appeared before her. A kunai was drawn and ready in his hand, with no forehead protector to signal his allegiance – or defiance. He looked to be a man in his late thirties, his face brittle from hunger and scars marked across his cheekbone. She sensed him to be a common criminal – a bandit, most likely. He was eyeing her from afar, grinning at the young woman dressed in blue. She was clad in her casual short-sleeved kimono - and she was unarmed.

"So, the rumors are true – your eyes," He sneered. "You're the wolf-girl?"

Calm and collected, she eyed him suspiciously. "What of it?"

His kunai glistened from the faint sunlight, gleaming in her direction so much she thought she could see her own reflection. Preparing himself, he readied his fighting stance, his free hand forming a single hand-sign while she stood in the alley alone and unprotected.

"I heard your head offers quite a high price these days," He grinned. "I would be able to be my own lord! I will bring your corpse to that sniffling oaf of a lard that sits on his palace steps wasting our coin!"

" _Our_ coin?" She questioned, her hands tightening on the broomstick. "Are you of the Land of Wind?"

"What does it matter?" He snorted, readying his weapon. "I will form my own land soon enough! With the coin from your capture, I will be my own daimyo!"

"And who is offering you the bounty of a slain young woman in exchange for coin, sir?"

"Eh? S-Shut up!" He shouted, flinching. "Someone will – s-some bandit lord, someone!"

A criminal, just as she thought.

Eyeing the sunken and dead glare of the bandit, she knew she had no choice. Her quiet morning had turned into something more troublesome than anticipated. All she wanted was to clean her balcony from the sands that plagued it, and here she now had a battle on her hands.

"So, you're a defector." Breaking off the head of the broomstick against the ground, she took her stance with her makeshift weapon. "Well, then - try me!"

Gulping, the bandit sensed her chakra burst forth from the air. Realizing he bit off more than he could chew, he swallowed his fear and charged directly. Swiftly, Nomasaki dodged his first strike, stepping off to the side as his kunai punctured the air between them. He grit his teeth, slashing again and again, and each time she scarcely stepped aside, effortlessly dodging his stabs. The final stab was met with the swing and shield of the broomstick.

His eyes widened as he saw her deliver a counter.

It was her turn.

With the twirl of the broomstick, she struck him with a force that sent him flying towards the ground. As he leapt for another attack, she knocked the kunai from his hands with the base and struck him again from the side. Slamming across the dusty alleyway, she stepped closer and solidified her stance into the ground. Gathering himself, he felt a throbbing in his head and bruises start to swell and line his arms and face. His ribs ached as well.

The woman was stronger than he anticipated.

Gnashing his teeth, he charged for a last time with a rallying yell. Blocking his fist with her free hand, she clasped it firmly in her palm, her heel digging into the dirt. With the other, she swung the broomstick and struck him across the torso. His body bounced off the ground before he struck the wall, spitting out a bloodied tooth as he could no longer bring himself to attack. He lost.

Seeing her ready the broomstick towards him again, he flinched. "I yield! I yield!" He cried out. "Please – don't kill me!"

Calming her stance as she sensed another chakra approaching, she closed her eyes as she took a deep exhale. The broomstick still in hand, she let its base rest against the ground as she turned back to see who was approaching her. From the shadows, a shinobi landed in the alley behind her, standing through the scarce sunlight that reached the secluded road.

"I figured I'd find you around," The owl-faced tracker-nin spoke. Sohei, Moro's messenger and weapon's specialist – an old comrade she grew fond of. Taking notice of the injured lowlife groaning against the wall, he grew hesitant. "Is this one giving you trouble?"

"Not anymore it seems," She answered, turning back to them. "I should summon the guard, just in case." She looked to her masked comrade, a light smile on her lips as she could see the humor in his reaction. "He wanted my head, you know."

"Moro-sama is requesting you meet with him as soon as you're able."

She did not want to hear that.

His words made her finger grasp the broomstick tighter for a moment. Did Moro know about her trek to Yamagakure? She was hoping he did not – she could not afford to be penalised. She had no hot water last month, she was hoping the next month would be different.

"Did Moro-sama say why?"

"No," Sohei answered, his owl mask unmoving. "Best that you go see him yourself."

Brushing her nervousness aside, she gave him a stern nod before he departed back into the shadows. Once the criminal was seized by the village guards, she went back inside. More sands littered her steps by the time she went back home.

It seemed her sweeping was all but for naught.

* * *

Deep within the confines of the burrowing headquarters, a lone tracker-nin sat knelt before their commander.

That morning, the scarce rays of the desert sun shone through the rusted and aged pipes that littered the walls and ceiling, breaking through the burgeoning darkness that engulfed the secret meeting place. Striking the tracker-nin's porcelain mask, its white gleam revealed its beastly snarl upon its carvings while the red signaled its identity as an instinctual hunter. Knelt before her commander, Nomasaki waited patiently for her next assignment to be revealed.

"You summoned me, sir?" She spoke, calmly.

"Yes," Moro nodded, his stern glance meeting the faint glint of her eyes through the slits of her shroud. "We received an invitation for the upcoming Chunin Exams in Konohagakure. It seems Konoha is requesting that each village send two qualified chunin or jonin-level shinobi to act as proctors." Gesturing his palm towards her with a serious glance painted upon his brisk features, he gave his next command. "As the commander and captain of the Suna Tracking Unit, I entrust you to represent Sunagakure on our behalf."

Surprised, she jolted briefly from his words. To partake in the upcoming exams as a proctor was something she had not yet received the honor, but was more than willing and intrigued to do so. Since becoming a tracker-nin full-time after the war, she had her fair share of assignments and tasks with the unit over the last two years – and now as Commander Moro's right-hand, she was slowly climbing the ranks within Suna's secretive hunting corps. To be recommended as a proctor was a promotion only scarcely given, she heard from other tracker-nin and Suna shinobi.

"Commander Moro -!"

"You seem surprised," Moro smirked at her surprised glance, crossing his arms behind the leather coat on his back. "As my right-hand, I expect nothing but excellence from you."

Reaching into his satchel at his side, he pulled out a parchment stamped with the seal and insignia of Konoha – marked in a red stamp that could be clearly seen within the darkened room.

"Take this form to Kazekage-sama and have him sign-off on it. The exams are next week, so I suggest you start preparing"

Taking the parchment from her commander, she nodded – meeting his glance with an honored and stern glint to her lilac eyes. "Yes, sir."

* * *

Hours later, she made her way towards the Kazekage's mansion – cleansed of her shinobi attire and dressed in her casual blue kimono.

Walking past the many councilors and ANBU that patrolled the corridors she once knew as familiar, she entered Gaara's office with her parchment in hand – briefly interrupting his paperwork exploits for the morning. As she stood before him in his office while the faint sunlight entered through the windows, he examined the parchment presented to him with wide surprised eyes – the timing of the Chunin Exams in Konoha had finally arrived.

"You're going to proctor for the Chunin Exams?" He asked, scanning the parchment for the involving details.

"Moro-sama insisted that I represent Suna," She nodded, a light smile on her lips as she watched him inspect the form at his desk. "I'm looking forward to it. It's been awhile since I've had a mission that wasn't a manhunt for a missing-nin."

Meeting her content gaze, his became one of concern. "I see." Quietly sighing to himself, he took out his pen from his pile of paperwork and secured the form before him – signing it in a careful and swift motion. "In that case, I authorize you to represent Suna for this year's exams in Konoha."

Taking the form from his reaching sands, she nodded. "Thank you, Gaara." Smiling to herself, she thought of the upcoming event fondly. "I'm still surprised that I was selected. I'm actually sort of excited, in a way."

His pen flinching upon his stack of paperwork, he looked down at his lap for a moment – concern once again setting in. "That's… great. I'm happy for you."

Slowly, her warm expression dissipated from her features as she could feel the ice and uncertainty from his tone of voice. Examining his averted glance from across his desk, she narrowed her eyes slightly at him in questioning. "You don't seem very happy," She retorted, raising a brow at him as she placed her hands at her hips. "Is there something wrong?"

He shook his head, his glance still avoiding hers. "No, it's just…" His words trailed as he tried to find the right thing to say to her conflicted expression.

"Just what? Why aren't you… happy for me?"

Closing his eyes, he stood up from his chair and left his pile of paperwork to fend for itself. Meeting her curious and saddened glance as he opened his eyes, he remained silent as he walked towards her by the sunlit window.

"Gaara," She spoke, looking down in silent upset towards the carpeted floor beneath her stance. "You can tell me, I'm your gi-…!" She jolted to herself, her face reddening greatly from the thought. Averting her glance to the side, she held her elbow in attempt to distract herself from her state of fluster. "…g-girlfriend… You can tell me anything." Bringing herself to look him in the eyes, her expression held visible concern towards him – and he could clearly see it upon her face. "So… What's wrong?"

"You'll be outside the village, so…" He began, quietly, looking down as he spoke. Finding the words, his eyes met hers once more, gazing at her in a concerned and protective nature. "I'll… be worried about you." As he thought to himself, his cheeks reddened slightly as he averted his glance – a similar word coming to mind. "I am your… boyfriend, so… I will be concerned in times like these…"

Smiling to herself at his words, she chuckled silently, humbled by their shared shyness. "Is that so?" Gently, she smiled up at him as they stood before each other in his office. "That's sweet of you, but I think I'll be fine. You're the Kazekage, you have more important things to worry about."

Despite her comforting smile, he could not shake the concern he felt, his expression conveying his unease – especially now that there was potentially a new organization of criminals to think about. Their skirmish on the mountains weeks ago was proof of an impending danger, and it worried him to bear the thought of her venturing alone without him by her side. Strangely, it made him feel emotionally vulnerable in a way he never thought possible before. Love was indeed an intriguing emotion – to evoke such unnecessary worry. It must be what comes with any relationship, he thought to himself.

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. Temari said she's leaving at the same time for her Ambassador duties, so we'll be heading to the Land of Fire together."

"Alright," He sighed, lightly smiling back at her. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I'll be careful, I promise. We'll see each other soon, before the final matches start." She replied. "I'll be back in a few weeks. They won't need me around for the final rounds."

"Oh," He realized, scratching the back of his head. "You're right. I forgot."

Comfortingly, she held him close in her arms, gingerly holding herself against his burgundy shirt, her cheek nuzzled in his chest as her hands delicately touched his clothed back. Surprising him for a brief moment from her affections, he could feel his heart skip in his chest while he stood frozen from her soft embrace.

"For someone so grumpy, you sure do worry a lot," She spoke, softly. "I'll let you know when I get to Konoha, okay?"

Holding her close in his strong arms, he nodded, smiling warmly to himself. For a moment, he felt completely assured that she would be safe – the thought comforting his worried mind along with her gentle affections.

"…Thank you."

Suddenly, a loud knock on the office door startled them, erupting their tender moment of understanding. Alarmed, they separated from each other's arms and directed their attention towards the urgent voices.

"Kazekage-sama! Kyo-sama's owl arrived!"

"The council is awaiting your arrival to discuss Tenbu!"

Surprised, Nomasaki's eyes widened as she turned towards the door. "My dad," She spoke, in hushed tones. "So that means…-!" Whipping her head towards Gaara, who stood stern as if a statue towards the voices, her eyes grew concerned. "They found information on them, didn't they? That group of mercenaries… and that clan -,"

"Yes," He nodded. "We received intel from Zenken-sama recently. It turns out that the mercenaries aren't connected to Ishigakure, so the ones who attacked Yama were all missing-nin… or for lack of a better term, criminals. As for the clan, none have seen a Kumatsume clansmen in years. Some say they're extinct."

"They said the same for my clan, remember?" She corrected. "The Yamamori still survived by hiding their bloodline and names, so maybe they did the same?"

"There's no telling what to make of it. If Tenbu claim to be who they are, they will be taken care of swiftly by Ishi or whoever they intend to strike first."

"Then I'll go with you to the meeting," She started towards the door, alarmed by his words. "Since I was there when they attacked, I can tell them of my senses -,"

"No. You can stay here. You don't need to sit on the council for this."

"But why not? I fought them alongside you, so I should be able to testify!"

Feeling the guilt swell up into his chest, Gaara's expression grimaced slightly from sharing her innocent gaze. He was hiding something from her, and it was eating him from the inside. Ultimately, his feelings won the best of him. Looking down, his eyes closed halfway in sadness – averting her confused stare.

"The council… They don't know that we're... together," He confessed, quietly. "Or that I left Suna to find you in the first place. To their knowledge, I was never in Yama fighting Tenbu. This could cause a rift between the councilors if revealed, and could potentially spawn dissidents within our ranks. What I did was selfish, but I did it for you." Sensing her distraught expression, he turned towards her, meeting her silent shock painted within her lilac eyes. "Nomasaki, when the time is right, they will know everything. I promise."

"Gaara!"

Alerting them, Kankuro's voice could be heard beyond the closed door. "Come on, this is urgent! It's not like you to be late like this!"

"I'll be seeing you when the exams are over," Gaara said, turning back to her. His expression softened, its guilty undertone masked by a soft smile. "Let me know how you get along in Konoha."

Catching her off guard, she had no time to put her sadness on the backburner of her mind. Nodding at him with a shy smile, she masked her upset as she witnessed him leave the dimly lit room with the solid thud of the closing door.

Making her way out of his office through the open window, she found herself crouched on the face of the Kazekage's mansion – perched upon the symbol for 'wind' that marked the identity of the towering building that stood in the heart of the desert village. Standing up as the harsh winds blew her dress and whipped her golden hair, she stared off into the blinding desert distance with a sorrowful tint to her eyes - thinking of reasons why he would still be keeping her a secret, especially after he went as far as to refuse the arranged marriage for her. In some strange way, the notion left her feeling as if she were still an outsider to the village of sands by which she pledged her unquestioned service.

* * *

Elsewhere, within the desert sands outside of Suna as the moon slowly approached into the darkened and cold night skies…

Towering a menacing shadow over the dunes, the massive clay structure exerted its dominance over the sands that surrounded it, adorned with gates of barbed wire, alarm bells, trenches, quicksand traps, and hundreds of patrolling guards – the Suna Prison. Within the torch-lit bowels of the incriminating castle, a masked guard approached a silent cell alone in the corridor that night. Painted all over the cell were sealing tags written in blood, while a silent figure with long greying hair and a straw-like beard sat against the cold wall within his trap, clothed in tattered rags dirtied with filth. As he sat crouched, the stump of his severed hand was plainly visible from the dim flames of the hallway. His dark eyes narrowing a gleam towards the masked guard, he examined them, suspiciously.

"Are the patrolling rats gone?"

"Yes, sir." The guard responded, looking back and forth in the corridor to make sure he was alone. Reaching in his pack, he pulled out a bento with fried meats and rice. "Here, please eat - I smuggled these from the camp. You're a lord, you shouldn't be treated like a common criminal."

Taking the food into his cell, the convict ate as if an animal within the darkness – deprived of all resources for survival. "It's turns out you were a valuable Sleeper Agent after all…" The man remarked, wiping his face with his ragged sleeve. "The late Sasori-sama should be ashamed that his spy-technique can be so easily replicated." Glaring up at the guard's mask, his dark eyes narrowed. "Are the pawns falling into place?"

"Yes, Kenzō-sama." The guard nodded. "It should only be a few months' time until the Reverse Sealing can be completed. Once the time comes, we can then launch our assault."

"Does the council suspect anything?"

"Not in the least. They're completely unaware of our plans."

"Good. Let's keep it that way."

Alerting his senses, the guard turned his stance towards the darkened corridor behind him, glaring suspiciously into its realm. The chakra from his masked comrades was making its return towards his place – and sooner than he anticipated.

"I can sense the guards approaching," The guard spoke, turning towards him. "I'll be making my rounds again when I hear more from our scouts."

"Very well," Kenzō sighed to himself. As the guard began to walk away from his cell, a menacing grin cracked against his bearded face with his gaunt teeth of decay.

"Suna will relish the day Tenbu rears its head towards them… and our clan will once again regain what was stolen. From the ashes…!"

Pausing for a moment, the guard bowed his head towards the disgraced councilman in servitude and honor. "From the ashes."

Silently, the guard retreated back into the darkness as it enveloped him. Reflecting to himself in silence, Kenzō dwelled within the confines of his cell, thoughts enticing his hunger and lust for power – awaiting for his moment of escape after three long years of imprisonment…


	48. Kazekage's Secret

**Chapter 48  
** **Kazekage's Secret**

* * *

At the break of dawn that morning, the two Suna women approached the village gates of Konohagakure through the waking forest, the once brittle branches beaming with life as a hint of winter's end danced on the air. Draped in their mission attire, Temari and Nomasaki stepped along the cobble path leading through the village's entrance, prepared to face the exams as Ambassador and proctor, respectively. As they made their way towards the towering gates that guarded the village entrance, a familiar face was seen leaning against the giant doors that welcomed them – their expression worn and tired.

"So, you've arrived. And not a minute too soon."

Realizing who it was, Temari smiled as she turned to meet his glance, the two Suna shinobi paused before him. "Shikamaru," She spoke. "Still waiting for that shogi rematch, right?"

"Don't count on it," He yawned. "I'm running on empty here with the exams. I'll be lucky if I can get through the first phase without falling asleep."

"Then don't be so lazy!" She scoffed, playfully. "Seriously, you're a Jonin! You should be able to manage a reasonable sleep-schedule!"

Sensing the tension and feeling uncomfortable from her unsuspected sarcasm, Nomasaki clutched the straps of her backpack, lightly nudging her friend's elbow. "Uh, Temari?"

"O-Oh," Looking to Nomasaki, she glanced back to Shikamaru, gesturing to her socially awkward friend at her side. "You remember, Nomasaki. Eh, Shikamaru?"

Slightly caught off guard due to his tiredness, glanced at her strange violet eyes, remembering their last encounter after her drunken arrival to his residence late in the night. Fresh in his memory was the scene of witnessing her and Gaara yell at each other in his clan's courtyard about the secret arranged marriage, watching her storm off into the forest while the Kazekage shouted for her to come back. It was an awkward second meeting, for sure.

"Oh, yeah," He nodded, turning to her, brushing aside the thought. "How are things, by the way? Much better than last time, I take it?"

"M-Much better!" Nomasaki beamed, her voice stammering. Pondering of what to say next, she thought of the newly developing romance that she kept to herself, the thought warming her in the cool winds of the fading winter. "I'm Ga-,"

"Nomasaki got asked to be a proctor from Suna."

"Temari…?" Nomasaki asked, surprised and confused by her sudden interruption, catching the cold tone of her voice.

"Shh…!" Temari leaned in, whispering in her ear. "Don't say anything about you and Gaara yet…! The council is still pretty sour about that arranged marriage falling through… Remember that Gaara asked you to keep it on the down-low…!"

Jolting her for a moment, she then realized the reasoning – remembering his parting words to her only days before. Sadly, she averted her glance from her friend, swallowing her pride. "Oh… right… I'm sorry."

"Nice," Shikamaru smiled, unaware of their hushed conversation, drawing her gaze to him. "Since it's your first time being involved in the Chunin Exams as a proctor, I'll be sure to give you the run down. Kakashi-sama asked the Chunin Exams Committee to place you in the second phase, the Forest of Death. Since you are ' _one with nature_ ' if I can stretch the truth a bit."

"R-Right," She nodded, awkwardly, giving a light smile. "I guess they had my Kekkei Genkai in mind, then."

Gesturing to the village streets behind them, Shikamaru turned his stance upon the cobble at their feet, ready to lead the way towards their next destination. "I'll show you two where you'll be staying during the exams-,"

"Shikamaru!"

Suddenly, a wild-looking young man riding a large white dog slammed onto the marble entrance before them, an excited grin painted upon his bearded expression. "You wouldn't believe what just happened to me and Akamaru!" Kiba beamed, turning to his animal companion. "Right, Akamaru?" Loudly, the white dog he was sitting on gave a deep bark as a response, its fur ruffled from its stance.

"Ugh, Kiba," Shikamaru groaned, dismayed by the interruption. "What is it now? I told you before, video-chats aren't that complicated. You just turn on the-,"

"Not that!" Kiba barked, hopping off the back of his dog to stand before him. "I was going to-,"

Entering his senses, his sense of smell jolted him from the scent of a nearby creature. In surprise, his beastly eyes widened as he absorbed the presence of something strangely alluring and dangerous – enticing him and striking his amazed curiosity.

"What the…?!" He stammered, looking around as he followed the scent from his nostrils. Shocked, he turned directly towards the Suna shinobi before him – looking directly towards Nomasaki with a wide stare of intrigue. "A… A wolf?!"

Meeting his glance towards her, her expression grew dismayed and visibly annoyed. Despite her familiarity with the village to the far east from her home, the vapid stench of dog still bothered her with each breath from her sensitive nostrils - and now she met the source - Inuzuka Kiba.

"Hello, dog…" She muttered under her breath, a faint snarl on her tongue.

"Nomasaki…!" Temari nudged her, whispering. "Contain yourself…!"

"I can't help it," She whispered back, meeting her annoyed glance. "You know I don't like dogs…!"

"So," Kiba jumped in front of her, attempting to act cool and alluring. "When did you roll into town? I've never met a wolf before!"

"Kiba," Shikamaru groaned. "Don't flirt with our Suna proctor, she's a guest for the exams."

"Suna?!" Kiba repeated, shocked, whipping his head towards her. "What's a wolf doing there? Shouldn't you be in the mountains? Are you sure you're not a jackal or something?"

Keeping her composure, she felt her eyebrow twitch and her lips curl into a forming snarl, sensing her canines pulse within her silent jaws – attempting to keep her anger at bay for his lack of understanding personal boundaries, especially with a stranger. To her internal surprise, it was the first time someone was actively intrigued and interested by her heritage and bloodline – if only the person was not behaving so intrusively.

"Long story short," She spoke, biting her tongue. "I immigrated."

"Ah," He sighed, his cheeks reddening. "So your name? What is it? 'Tsubaki', I'm guessing?"

"Nomasaki."

"That's a weird name! What about your clan? Maybe we're from sister-clans?"

"We should get going," Shikamaru reminded, as he started to walk into the village streets behind where they stood. "The proctor orientation starts in an hour, we don't exactly have much time to kill with conversation."

"Come on!" Kiba groaned, dismayed at the sight of them leaving. "Chill out, Shikamaru! I'm just asking-," Akamaru barked in dismay alongside him, voicing his discontent along with his master.

Suddenly, Nomasaki's head whipped towards them catching his glance. Horrifying him, her expression morphed into that of a snarling beast, equipped with fangs and menacing wolfish eyes - a monster. Shocked, he flinched in response, with Akamaru growling fearfully in response to the wolf, his back arched in preparation to attack. Giving her head a shake as she walked on, her wolf features disappeared, walking alongside Temari with her face painted with a smile – satisfied by his fear and hoping that he would leave her alone.

"You didn't have to scare him with that," Temari chuckled, noticing the brief interaction from the corner of her eye. "I thought he was seriously going to pee himself."

"I wanted to," Nomasaki replied, smirking up at her. "Since he was interested in my wolfishness, I gave him a front-row seat."

"You're right," She agreed. "But wolves should pick on something their own size, don't you think?"  
Nomasaki chuckled in response, walking alongside her friend. "As should mutts."

Suddenly, freezing her in her path, she suddenly sensed an alarming presence enter her mind - the chilling feeling of someone watching her trembling down her spine. The chakra was faint, although still exerting a threatening presence. Through her senses, her instincts were on high guard - a hint of bloodlust on the dull winds around her. Glancing towards the direction of their foul strength, she stood on high-alert - trying not to draw attention to herself for fear of attack.

"Huh? What's wrong, Nomasaki?"

Startling her, her turned towards her curious friend's glance, pausing to see what the fuss was about. Meeting Temari's narrowed emerald eyes, she reluctantly brushed off the unsettling feeling she felt upon the winds, catching up to her and Shikamaru. "Nothing, I'm sorry."

As the two Suna kunoichi departed to the heart of the village hidden amongst the tree leaves, a figure veiled in black watched from upon the nearby cliffside, examining their path with menacing dark eyes as they disappeared into the shadows of the forest, concealed in darkness.

* * *

Later that day around noon, the selected proctors from each participating village were gathered into the orientation hall of the Konohagakure Ninja Academy. Within each row of proctors were shinobi of Suna, Iwa, Kiri, Kumo, and Konoha, with scattered representatives from the small villages of Takigakure and Amegakure sitting in amongst the large group of shinobi. Within the middle row, Nomasaki sat in her assigned seat around people she never once met nor seen before, timidly keeping to herself and glancing at the pile of forms placed on her desk. Before the new proctors at the front of the classroom was a towering man covered in scars and a stone-faced expression as if carved from slate – reminding her of Commander Moro.

"For the Forest of Death, all proctors assigned to the simulation grounds must remain unseen by participants unless they suspect cheating or death," His thundering voice continued. "The second stage is three days in length, so be sure to remember your rotating shifts at the tower. By looking at the forms in front of you, you can see the completion records dating back to…-,"

Drawing her attention to the scattered forms before her, she scanned the parchments as the instructor's voice entered the background of her focus. As she read the page regarding the Forest of Death, she saw the completion records that were mentioned. Surprising her, at the top of the leaderboard she saw Gaara's name, along with the names of his siblings, ranked at the top – completing the Forest of Death in less than twenty-four hours, a record-breaking time of one hour and thirty-seven minutes. Remembering what he previously told her about the failed Konoha Invasion plotted by his late father and the legendary fiend Orochimaru, she looked on at the mention of his name in sympathy – remembering the subtle hurt upon his tone for participating in such a doomed venture. Knowing how far he came since that time, she thought of him fondly to herself – admiring the man who she held in her arms only days ago for all that he was.

As the instructor moved on to further details, she directed her attention towards the front of the classroom, taking in the procedures that needed to be done for the upcoming exams.

When the evening made its approach, the orientation finally wrapped up, with all of the newly assigned proctors going their separate ways until the exams were set to begin the next day. Making her way to the winding corridor of the building, she could feel Temari's chakra on her senses. As she could catch a glimpse of her friend at the far-end of the hallway, she approached her. Sensing someone behind her, Temari turned towards her, giving a smile in a familiarity.

"Nomasaki," She spoke. "Did you finish your orientation?"

"Yeah," Nomasaki nodded. "And you?"

"They have me sitting in for the written portion of the exam," Temari sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "I thought they'd keep the village representatives together, but maybe Konoha wants to extend the 'friendly' approach amongst the villages? Even so, my duties as Ambassador just got more hectic thanks to this abrupt change in schedule."

"Hey, Temari!"

Turning towards the friendly tone, the two Suna kunoichi directed their attention towards the hallway. Approaching them was a young woman dressed in a red quipao dress with a pleasant expression painted on her green eyes, her pale pink hair bouncing on her shoulders as she came to a stop before them – Haruno Sakura. Slightly surprised to finally meet the well-known medic from the Fourth Shinobi War, Nomasaki stood in silence as she paused before them – remembering that Sakura was the kunoichi who saved Kankurō from Sasori's deadly poison nearly five years ago.

"Sakura," Temari said. "What brings you here?"

"I'm acting as the Medical Officer for the exams," Sakura replied, a friendly smile on her lips. "A bunch of us are going to grab a bite to eat now that the orientation's finished. Did you want to join?"

"I would, but I have some things here to take care of, reports and whatnot." Glancing at Nomasaki from the corner of her eye, she smirked to herself, placing her palm upon her shoulder – startling her from her awkward silence. "But my friend here would be able to!"

Nervously, Nomasaki looked up to her friend. "Temari…-!"

"You seem familiar," Sakura smiled, vaguely remembering a glimpse of her from the war – her strange violet eyes striking her memory. "You're from Sunagakure, right?"

"Yeah," Nomasaki nodded, with a timid smile. "Nomasaki."

"Ah, I remember you!"

From the chattering crowd behind them at the classroom doorway, Sakura's eagerly sociable friend joined in - a tall, slender blonde dressed elegantly in a revealing purple garb - Yamanaka Ino. "You fought with us in the war! Fourth Division, right?"

"Yeah," Nomasaki replied, her nervousness slowly slipping away from her tone – glancing at the two Konoha kunoichi before her. "It's nice to meet you."

"Sakura," Ino whispered in her friend's ear, gesturing towards the exit with an annoyed glance. "We should get going before the shop fills up."

"Oh, right!" Sakura jolted, remembering the time.

Following the two women, Nomasaki paused, glancing back at her friend who stood in the hall. "Temari?"

"I'll catch up later," Temari said. "I got some things here to sort out."

"Are you sure? I can wait for you."

"Not necessary! Go out and enjoy yourself."

After exchanging a timid and warm nod, Nomasaki continued on her way with Sakura and Ino towards the village streets that evening. Realizing she forgot to say something, Temari's memory jolted - an urgent expression on her face.

"Just don't drink the sake like last time!"

* * *

When the night approached, Nomasaki found herself seated between the two kunoichi and their friend who joined in after returning from her mission – Tenten. At a loud restaurant stall, the four young women sat before trays of anko dumplings – conversing about the impending exams that were less than twenty-four hours away as the loud distant voices of nightlife filled the village air with the thin glow of the neon signs that lined the streets.

"I mean, who are they kidding?" Ino scoffed to herself, stuffing her face in the process. "The exams start tomorrow. I've already had to change my entire shift schedule with the flower shop because of their last-minute changes!"

"Well," Sakura sighed, placing her palm under her chin, worn out from the day's briefings. "If they plan on doing the exams like this, it's best to work out the kinks before something goes wrong."

"Nothing could go as wrong as our first attempt at the Chūnin Exams," Tenten added, a light chuckle to her voice. "Remember?"

"How can I forget…" Ino sighed. "It was an international crisis! The Third Hokage was killed by that criminal Orochimaru... did you hear he was pardoned?"

"Hm," Sakura nodded, unsettled. "Hokage-sama did so because of the war. Without his help, the outcome may have been different. Same as why he pardoned Sasuke -,"

"And don't forget - that sand-creep fought Sasuke in the final matches and next thing we know - Otogakure and Suna are attacking -!?"

"Ino...!"

Sakura's concerned glance towards her gave her the signal to stop talking. Curious as to why, Ion followed Sakura's head-nods to the silent Suna kunoichi who timidly sat close by at the stall. Flinching slightly in error, Ino let out a sigh.

"But ya know - the times _have_ changed. I mean, that so-called sand-creep is the Kazekage now and those villages are allies."

Remaining silent to herself, Nomasaki reflected on their words as she remembered the stories Gaara told her about those dark days. She could not really blame them for remembering him that way, she thought - she probably would have too if she had taken the exams at that time. Still, the fact that they recognized him as what he was, the Kazekage, made her feel assured.

"Did you take the Chūnin Exams back then?" Sakura asked, turning to her silent acquaintance at her side.

"Me?" Nomasaki turned to her, slightly alarmed by the question – interrupting her from her timid thoughts. "No," She smiled, lightly, clutching her cup of water in her hands at the counter. "I was… living in Yamagakure at the time."

"Yamagakure?" Ino joined in, curiously.

"That's my homeland," Nomasaki replied, a friendly smile upon her face. "I'm actually an emigrate from the Land of Mountains." Thinking to herself, she gently smiled as she acknowledged her growth over the years – it made her proud. "It's funny… I was never destined to become a shinobi, but I ended up becoming one in Suna, nonetheless. It makes me wonder if destiny really exists. But I've come to realize it's something you choose, just as I chose the path to be a kunoichi."

"That's so interesting," Sakura beamed, astonished by her story. "I can't imagine journeying through the desert, let alone the mountains!"

"It gets easier." Nomasaki smiled, a warm chuckle present on her breath.

"Ah, look! The sake arrived!"

Catching the scent of alcohol on their table, Nomasaki's eyes glanced at the tray of shot glasses laid out for them on a silver tray. Watching her new friends take their shots with laughs and gasps of brief disgust, she hesitantly reached for hers – remembering the embarrassment she caused Gaara and Temari last time she mixed with sake. Never again, she thought to herself.

"Should I…?" She whispered to herself, holding her glass of weakness before her, peering into it with a nervous glance.

"Nomasaki," Sakura spoke, turning to her, noticing her worried expression. "Are you going to take your shot?"

Thinking it over, Nomasaki gave in to her gut. "I guess one shot wouldn't hurt much…"

* * *

Hours later into the night, at the same stall on the village street, Nomasaki was slinging back a shot of sake – while Sakura, Ino, and Tenten watched in horror as she accidentally drank herself into a stupor. Disturbing them, their new friend from desert lands was not handling her alcohol very well.

"N-Nomasaki!" Sakura stammered, horrified. "That's your eighth one!"

Attempting to reach out to her, she remembered what she muttered to her only a few moments earlier – kekkei genkai, wolves, fangs, beasts. Hesitantly, she retracted her hand, nervous at the thought of her lashing out in drunken anger – and wondering if the slurred words she spoke about her nature were true.

- _At this rate, we'll have to carry her home…! Who knew she'd be such a light-weight…!_ \- Sakura thought to herself, witnessing her friend's unquenchable thirst for alcohol.

Rocking back and forth, drunkenly, Nomasaki placed her elbows on the counter, looking up at her with a wide, reddened grin. "I'll be FINE… trust me, I can handle my sake like a dream!" She slurred. "I've only drank once before this, so I got lots of practice."

"Once?!" Ino gasped. "That's not enough to know! You're cut off-!"

As Ino reached out to stop her from taking another shot, Sakura stopped her – grasping her wrist before she had a chance to come into contact with Nomasaki's hand.

"Ino…!"

"Eh?"

Leaning in her ear, Sakura whispered to her. "She's got fangs," She hushed. "She might bite…!"

"O-Oh, really?" Ino stammered, shocked by what she was hearing. "Wait… what?!"

"What are you whispering?" Nomasaki questioned them slowly, raising a brow. "Are you... talking about me?"

"U-Uh, nothing! Nothing at all! Hahaha!" Ino lied, nervously, sensing a bead of sweat on her forehead. Changing the subject, she leaned in towards her, putting on a happy facade. "So Nomasaki, we wanna know… Are you… seeing anyone?"

"I can see you right in front of me!" Nomasaki huffed, in a slurred way. "There's one, two… two? No, three… Three? Yeah, three."

Sighing to herself, Tenten sat embarrassed as she watched the conversation transpire before her. As the only truly sober person there, she was definitely going to be the one responsible for getting them all home – and she was already regretting when that moment would arrive.

- _She's really drunk… Hopefully she's not a headcase like Lee…_ \- She thought, annoyed.

"No, no," Ino corrected. "We mean like dating! So, spill it! Any cute Suna guys got your eye?"

"Ah," Nomasaki sighed, leaning back in her seat. Instantly, her 'secret' lover came to mind. As she thought about him, she began to blush wildly, uninhibited. "Well… I've been seeing this guy for over a month now, and he's really cute!"

"Ooo! Amazing! Tell us more!" Sakura pressed, excitedly. "What's he like?"

Lost in her drunken thoughts, Nomasaki closed her eyes as she thought of him, feeling her flushed cheeks feel hot. "He's sweet, kinda shy, and he's worried to death about me being a proctor!" She gushed. "He's a great listener, too."

"Ah! What does he look like?" Ino leaned in. "Tall? Dark? Handsome?"

"Well, he's taller than me… He has messy red hair… and he's super handsome!" Glancing to her side, she blushed again, giggling to herself. Leaning in towards Sakura and Ino, she grinned mischievously. "He's got a cute butt, too…!"

From her drunken words, Sakura began to slowly piece them together – messy red hair. Sunagakure. Her memory suddenly jolted, realizing the answer her drunken friend was dancing around. Shocked, her eyes widened from her assumption - was it 'him'?

- _Wait a second… she can't mean…?!_ \- She thought, stunned.

Reaching the same shocking conclusion, Ino held back her temptation to use her Mind Transfer, hesitantly – desperately wanting to know the truth.

- _Tall…? Red hair…?! Wait… does he have a cute butt…? I can't remember…_ -

"Nomasaki," Sakura leaned in, urgently. "Can you tell us his name?!"

"His… name?" Nomasaki repeated, slurred.

"Yeah!" Ino nodded, leaning in closer. "We really REALLY wanna know!"

"Yeah!" Sakura chimed in. "Tell us! Now! We have to know!"

"Spill it!" Ino shouted, excited.

"Guys," Tenten chimed in, nervously. "Tone it back a bit, she's very drunk! You might overwhelm her."

Smiling widely from ear to ear as she lay her torso on the counter, Nomasaki blushed wildly from the thought of him - ready to tell them who her lover's true identity. "His name is Ga-,"

"Again?!"

Suddenly, Temari stormed in their stall from the street-side, surprising everyone at the counter. "Seriously, Nomasaki?!" She groaned, visibly annoyed. "You know you can't handle alcohol or keep secrets!"

"T-Temari?!" Sakura stammered, awkwardly.

"Hi, Temari…" Nomasaki hiccupped, speaking very slurred and slow. "Come… sit down with us… we are ~drinking~…!"

Pulling up her sleeves, Temari put Nomasaki's arm over her shoulder – her body having the same dexterity as a ragdoll. "Come on," She sighed. "I'm taking you to bed."

As the two started for their room at the inn, Nomasaki drunkenly waved the Konoha kunoichi goodbye. "Bye, guys," She yawned, intoxicated. "I'm going to take a nap…! See you at… the big day…!"

Once the Suna women were gone, Sakura and Ino turned to each other, speaking in hushed tones. "Shit!" Ino groaned. "We were so close to figuring it out!"

"Ugh… Yeah," Sakura agreed, closing her eyes with a sigh. "But… could she really be with him?! I thought he was… You know...? Guess we were wrong about that."

Ino crossed her arms, nodding her head in approval. "If so, I respect her big time!" She smirked, satisfied. "She landed a Kage, that's crazy! And the stoic-cool-type, too." Opening her pale blues eyes, she grinned at her in a teasing manner. "Almost as impressive as you, Sakura… being that you got Sasuke!"

Surprised by her words, Sakura began to blush. The mere sound of his name made her excited with the thought of seeing him again. She could hardly contain herself. And she knew he had to return to Konoha soon.

"I-Ino…," She stammered, flustered.

"She seems nice," Tenten sighed, twirling a kunai. "But maybe adding alcohol wasn't the best way of getting to know her…"

* * *

Once they reached their room at the inn that night, Temari was gathering her things before heading to bed, while Nomasaki laid on the couch with a blanket draped over her. With her face woozy and reddened from her unquenchable taste in alcohol, she looked up at the white ceiling above, her tiredness catching up with her.

"Temari,"

Turning to her friend, Temari took out the ribbons holding her pigtails as she sat before her pack on the floor. "What is it?"

"Why can't I… No," Nomasaki corrected, sounding more coherent. "Why doesn't he want anyone to know that we're… together? I don't understand… You and Kankurō know, but no one else can… So… why is that?"

"I told you," Temari began with a sigh. "He doesn't want the council to be angry. You're from a different clan, they're old-school so they-,"

"No… That's not it…"

Flipping her body around on the couch, Nomasaki placed her folded arms under her chin, resting on the arm of the sofa - her eyes drunken and puffy, yet narrowed in suspicion at her friend while she watched her brush her sandy blonde hair. "The alcohol is wearing off, but my senses can tell. Are you… lying to me?"

Walking towards her with a tired sigh, Temari sat down on the floor near the couch before her. "Don't tell Gaara I told you, but," She spoke, hushed. "…He doesn't want to tell anyone yet because he's… nervous."

Her flushed expression calming, Nomasaki looked upon her friend with surprise tinted upon her glance, confused by her choice of words. "Why would he… be nervous?"

"He loves you," Temari smiled, warmly. "He just… sucks at showing his emotions, or even expressing them. Remember, it's Gaara we're talking about." Comfortingly, she placed her hand on Nomasaki's arm in a friendly manner. "He's a very private person. You of all people should know that."

Watching Temari make her way towards the bed in the far side of the room, Nomasaki huddled back into her blanket cover on the couch, feeling herself become unusually timid. "Temari, can I tell you… a secret…?"

"Hm? What's that?"

Retreating back to the cushions of the sofa, Nomasaki looked down at herself, blushing as she hid her expression within the blanket. "…He… kissed me."

"What?! When?!"

"In Yama, when he apologized for the marriage-thing," Nomasaki sighed, huddling closer in the couch, as she prepared herself for sleep. "He wasn't nervous to do that. Although… he hasn't kissed me since…-,"

"B-But you know what I mean!" Temari barked, awkwardly. "He will tell, eventually. He just… needs to feel comfortable. He will eventually… Stop dwelling on it."

"You're right," Nomasaki rolled over, still slightly drunk. "I was… overreacting. I just wanted to tell our Konoha friends because… he makes me so happy."

Smiling to herself at her friend's words, Temari yawned, pulling up the bedsheets as she made herself comfortable. "Go to sleep. The first phase of the exam is tomorrow, so you should start brushing up on the second phase before it arrives."

"Alright. I apologize in advance if I get sick in the morning."

"You can clean it if you make a mess. I'm basically Kankuro's hangover maid, I'm not going to be yours either!"

And the two Suna kunoichi retired for the night, ready to face the exams as proctors in the morning…


	49. To Hunt A Wolf

**Chapter 49  
** **To Hunt A Wolf**

* * *

Within a matter of days, the Chunin Exams finally came to a close in Konoha.

After two weeks of staying in the large forested village, the visiting proctors from the allied shinobi nations were prepared to return home. Satisfied with the outcome, the Sixth Hokage graciously reviewed all proctors with flying colors - sending letters of gratitude to their Kage leaders and chieftains. Successfully, Nomasaki helped supervise the Forest of Death covertly and oversee the Preliminary matches between the candidates. Keeping watch on the competing genin as a wolf hidden amongst the trees, she observed their trials of leadership and teamwork, proving to Konoha she was a splendid Suna kunoichi, worthy of the title of jonin – and of her Commander's recommendation.

On that sunny morning, before departing for Sunagakure, the two Suna kunoichi decided to venture beyond the confines of the plaza. Reaching the summit, they paused to gander at the marvel before them – a massive construction site for the future Thunder Train, the upcoming transportation revolution, which would make travel possible to nearly any corner of the continent. Although it would not be completed until several years, visitors still flocked to view the site and wonder about its bright future.

As they walked through the area of heavy of concrete, steel beams, and wiring, Nomasaki could feel the familiar sinister presence return to her mind – itching at her thoughts, causing her to remember the chakra she felt the day they arrived in the village. Their bloodlust could be plainly felt by her, gnawing at her chakra as she could feel them following the through the shadows - hidden.

"Shikamaru said this train will be ready in ten years," Temari smirked as they walked. "That's a ridiculously long time, don't you think?" Noticing her friend's verbal absence, she turned to her, dismayed by her sudden silence. "Look, I know you're not that interested in this sort of thing, but at least-,"

Pausing, Nomasaki turned towards the construction debris in the distance, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She could feel the presence close by – waiting for the perfect moment to strike. "Temari," She spoke, her voice stern. "Someone is following us. I can sense them."

Stopping in her tracks, Temari turned to face her, her green eyes glaring ahead from the warning. "Ally?" She asked, reaching for her fan at her back. "Or foe?"

"The latter!"

Turning around to face the hidden adversary, a figure in a dark cloak and black tunic stood above them, leering at them from atop the steel scaffolding. Their face concealed by a black head-wrapping, their slit eyes glared at the two in a sinister nature - an assassin. Wielding a strange crystal-tipped spear, the assassin lunged towards them. On reflex, Temari whipped out her large fan, a violent burst of wind slashing towards the enemy as a result. Dodging it, the enemy dashed towards them – his spear ready at his side. Forming hand-signs as she seen him approach, Nomasaki ran forward.

"Water release! Water Dragon Jutsu!"

Within an instant, a large stream of water from the nearby culvert flowed towards the cloaked enemy, its serpentine-like shape lunging towards the assassin with open jaws. Slamming against the rubble, the mass of concentrated water struck the harsh concrete in a burst of liquid and vapor - the enemy dodging the attack with a farfetched leap of faith.

Suddenly, the assassin appeared before Temari with their spear in hand - ready to strike her down. Quickly, she blocked their swipes with her fan, standing firm to combat their strength. Gritting her teeth, she pushed back their strike as she could feel their strength grow as she solidified her strength. Making eye contact with the foe, she could see the message conveyed in their dark soul-less eyes - death and hatred.

"Who the hell are you?!" She spat. "You bastard…!"

"Temari! Stay on guard!"

To her surprise, a violent gust of wind struck the enemy, sending the assassin flying into a pile of debris and bricks with a loud crash. Turning to her side, Nomasaki appeared before her, knelt in preparation for another jutsu.

"Thanks, Nomasaki," Temari nodded, relieved.

Suddenly, she heard a loud noise from the debris. Turning back towards the assassin, they stood up from their fall and charged towards them. Sensing their fast approach, Nomasaki seized the opportunity – her muscles contracting as she shook her skin into a wolf and dashed forward, lunging with fangs and claws. Missing the first strike, she reverted to her human form and pulled a kunai, striking the shaft of the assassin's spear as they blocked it. After exchanging blows, she quickly weaved hand-signs, taking in a deep breath as she clapped her palms together.

"Secret Art! Howling Winds!"

In an instant as her canines protruded from her open jaws, a sharp howl burst forth from her lungs, propelling a large gust of wind towards the charging enemy. Dodging the attack, the enemy leapt over her, striking her with their glowing spearhead upon her forearm. As she made contact with the weapon, its glow tore through her sleeve and pierced her flesh – bursting into a wave of pain that she once thought was incomprehensible. Within a matter of seconds, she felt an intense tremor of burning agony rumble through her, throwing her to the ground while her blood boiled inside – her wolfishness pounding through her in retaliation while she writhed under the enemy's hold.

"Nomasaki!" Temari yelled, turning towards the direction of her friend's wails in pain.

Trembling from the scorching pain as she grasped her arm tightly, Nomasaki lay on the pavement defenseless, the enemy positioning their glowing spear to land a fatal blow – her narrowing eyes glancing to him in preparation.

"Shannaro!"

Suddenly, Sakura appeared from above them, her fist cocked behind her for a finishing strike. Within an instant of monstrous strength, her punch made contact with the foe's torso, flinging them towards the crater of steel beams below. Upon impact, the disguised enemy slammed into the pit of construction materials with a loud crack. Slowly, the enemy struggled to lift themselves from the debris of bricks and steel as the dust cleared from the winds - their wounds bleeding profusely, tinting the white concrete with crimson. When the foe re-established their stance, they flinched, their eyes frustrated and narrowed, scanning for a potential escape. Realizing that they were surrounded above by the newly arrived Konoha shinobi, the foe paused - they lost.

"Got them! Great work, Sakura." Shikamaru nodded. Forming hand-signs with his palms as he knelt in his stance, he readied himself. "Now I just have to pin him down with my Shadow Sewing, and -!?" To his sudden shock, the enemy ripped open their black tunic, revealing dozens of paper-bombs strapped to their bleeding chest – a menacing expression tinted on the enemy's glare. "What the -?! Paper-bombs! Everyone - get back!"

Aware of what was transpiring at a distance, Nomasaki's eyes widened as she lay on the ground in pain. "It's just like that time in Yama…!" She murmured, gritting her teeth. "This man…!"

With a parting glare, the assassin locked eyes with Temari – his glare meeting her narrowed green eyes. "Tenbu will not stop until the sands are red with blood!" He shouted, ready to ignite his self-destruction. "We will rise from the ashes!" Bitterly, Temari watched as a darkened red haze erupted with a bright flash and explosion of fire – their foe disappearing from the world of the living in a blast of flame and destruction.

* * *

Once the blast had cleared, Sakura knelt down beside Nomasaki, propping her up from the concrete and pulling down her black sleeve so she could get a closer look at her injury. As she examined her friend's wound, her light green eyes widened slightly from its bright red marking and steaming burn – Nomasaki's winces in pain still audible as she did so much as touch her wrist to turn her arm over. While the healing aura of her green medical-ninjutsu enveloped her hands, she calmed her mind in focus.

"Hold still," She spoke. "This might sting at first."

Biting her lip, Nomasaki's wound seared from the contact of Sakura's jutsu, the intense pain rumbled through her arm once more – her body writhing from the inside. Restraining herself, she fought every urge to release a cry as she could sense her canines growing within her clenched jaws. As each breath passed, the pain became easier to deal with. Once it was healed and the pain numbed, she could rest easy. However, upon looking at her forearm did she notice a slight scarring remaining from the enemy's strike – perplexing her as she stared at it.

"This is very strange," Sakura remarked, finishing up her healing with a narrowed glance in suspicion. "I don't understand… Why is it leaving a mark? My medical-ninjutsu should've healed it completely."

"It's alright, there's no pain." Nomasaki nodded, a light smile on her lips. "Thank you, Sakura."

Meeting her glance towards her, Sakura smiled back in relief before standing up and making her way to examine the culprit's splattered remains within the crater below them. Watching her friend jump down to the construction pit, she slowly stood up on her feet, glancing at her healed wound with a tinge of worry – the memory of its fire-like burning fresh in her mind. Sensing Temari approach, she pulled her sleeve back towards her wrist, turning to her concerned eyes.

"Are you alright?" Temari asked, pausing beside her.

"I am now," Nomasaki replied, meeting her glance. "But that weapon… It struck my arm but my whole body felt the impact."

"What do you mean?"

As Sakura examined the crater sprayed in a mask of blackened blood, her eye caught the glimmer of the enemy's spear. Kneeling before it, she held it's hilt in her hands, carefully scanning the glowing crystal that sat at its base. Cautiously, she touched the glass-like mineral with her fingers, prepared to feel the same sting of pain her friend felt. Surprisingly, she felt nothing – not even an air of something amiss. Perplexing her, she glared at the faintly glowing mineral, unsure of its substance.

"That assassin… The weapon they used," Sakura began, grasping the crystal shard in her fingers. "This shard doesn't affect me, yet -," Hearing Shikamaru appear behind her, she glanced back at him briefly. "It must be made of some sort of element. Maybe a special sort of chakra-weapon?"

"Do you think so?" Shikamaru asked, his eyes narrowed.

Breaking the crystal from its shaft, Sakura took out a small plastic vial, placing the glowing mineral inside as she stood. "I'll look into this substance at the lab. I'll send for Shizune-sama to help with its examination. Maybe she or Tsunade-sama would know what kind of substance this is made of?"

"Good idea," He nodded. "Be sure to relay any findings to Hokage-sama as soon as possible. With any luck, we can get to the bottom of this."

With a nod of her pink head, Sakura started for the medical examiner's laboratory within the village core, leaping down from the rubble in swift speed. Once Sakura disappeared, Shikamaru stood silent for a moment in suspicious reflection – pondering about the mysterious assassin that decided to launch an attack within Konoha. Turning towards Temari and Nomasaki upon the crater's ledge, he leapt towards them, pausing with his hands placed within his pockets.

"Judging by the nature of their attack strategy, I'm convinced that you two must have been their targets for this attack," He spoke, turning to them. "We haven't had anyone of the sort enter the village recently, and being that you two are foreigners, they could've followed you here during the exams."

"I've had a feeling about this," Temari answered with a dismayed sigh, looking down for a moment. "They seemed to be interested in going after us, that's for sure." Jolting slightly, she turned to Nomasaki at her side, surprised and confused from the conclusion. "Could you sense them at all?"

Pondering to herself, Nomasaki hung her head low as her thoughts came to a pause, the answer hanging at her lips - she was not. "I… don't think so," She said, quietly. "It's strange… This has never happened before," Meeting Temari's eyes, she gave a stern expression. "Somehow, this assassin managed to slip past my detection abilities. I don't know how, but they did." Her eyes narrowed as she looked down, remembering the foe's parting words. "Tenbu… that's the name of their organization. They say they live to destroy the Kazekage clan. That's what they said when they attacked Yamagakure, anyways, but perhaps they just want to kill anyone who gets in their way?"

"I'll report this to Hokage-sama," Shikamaru said, sternly. "In the meantime, I'll request ANBU to monitor the village to make sure there are no others lurking around."

"I'll send a hawk to Gaara," Nomasaki chimed in, catching their attention. Realizing her error, she awkwardly retreated, a faint blush painting her face as she wallowed in her public mistake. "Err, I-I mean... Kazekage-sama! S-So he knows before we return to Suna."

Jumping down towards the hillside, as she stood in the high grass, she readied herself with a breath – prepared to exchange her skin for the fur of a beast. As she began the transformation and her wolfishness began to seep through her veins, she felt her muscles twinge and ache in a slight burning pain as her muzzle slowly morphed into a ghastly figure with each breath, reminding her of when she first became a wolf many years ago – reverting to her human appearance in a wince.

"What's wrong?" Temari questioned, stepping forward with a concern glint to her confused glance.

Her eyes wide in stunned confusion, Nomasaki turned her body to face her – panting as she desperately tried to grasp her current reality. "I can't do it," Her voice quivered, the bewilderment evident in her lilac eyes. "I can't transform. The pain is too great."

Shocked, Temari took in her words. "How?" She stammered. "It's your kekkei genkai!"

"It could have something to do with that strange weapon they used," Shikamaru added. "Maybe your kekkei genkai has a weakness that they tried to exploit?"

Her fingers lightly trembling as she stared at them spread before her, Nomasaki's eyes remained wide with fear, confusion, and shock running rabid. "I'm… not sure."

Standing in stunned silence, she shivered at the thought of losing her inner wolf, a part of her identity – who she was. Not once did she face an obstacle to her transformation during her youthful years of fear towards her bloodline, and she desperately wished she could overcome it. Since becoming a kunoichi of Suna, she grew to accept her heritage with pride as she grew older, and where she currently stood was at her ideal comfort level – and now she risked losing her control over her powers completely. Hoping that her situation was only temporary, she bit her lip as her averted glance in thought conveyed something else – her fear of losing what she became – what she earned.

"We also can't forget that we have to relay this news to Suna as soon as possible, since we're currently tracking this so-called Tenbu organization," Temari reminded. "We should return to our village immediately."

"As a precautionary measure," Shikamaru added, walking towards the direction of the village exit. "I'll escort you both to the gates, in case we have another situation on our hands." Groaning, he let out a tired stretch. "This is certainly troublesome… I just wanted a stress-free Chunin Exams, but it seems there's something like this every year."

Temari scoffed in agreement, following behind him as Nomasaki walked at her side in distraught quiet – lost in her ruminating thoughts. "I could say the same… Last time it was the Land of Silence, now this," Chuckling lightly to herself, she smirked towards him. "It's amusing to see you try your hand at chivalry. I have no complaints, but I don't need an escort."

"You don't," He agreed. "But… I want to. Err, you know… just in case."

Closing her eyes halfway with a gentle smile, Temari faintly blushed. "Sheesh… You men."

* * *

Shortly after the hawk was sent from the Konoha Aviary, the two Suna kunoichi departed for their home in the desert urgently - taking the little information they got from their assassin encounter back with them to the sands. With a troubled mind, Nomasaki followed closely by Temari, her legs growing tired from their desert journey – missing the ease her wolf-form gave her as she would bound across the winds, the memory of her paws lightly gliding across the sand in second nature. For the duration of their three-day journey to Sunagakure, she dealt with the burden of traveling as a human across the treacherous desert that claimed so many lives – with Temari keeping a close watch, making sure her friend was able to keep up…

Silently, they arrived through the village streets as the night skies howled with the rising winds of the desert. Without catching the eye of the patrolling ANBU along the watchtowers, the two kunoichi snuck their way towards the Kazekage's mansion in the village's center – entering the grand doors without a single sound. Nervous about another potential attack from the sprouting assassins, Nomasaki accompanied Temari to her home in the hopes of being able to detect the slightest bit of danger that could befall them. Luckily, her senses must have been dulled as the night was just as quiet and empty as the dark skies – her paranoia winning against her.

After a parting glance within the porch of the Kazekage's residence, Nomasaki closed the door behind her and started her way down the dimly lit corridor – eager to return to her apartment at last. While she thought of the burn that scorched her arm and the mysterious mercenaries that sought to appear at every corner of her mind, she deeply worried about Gaara and his siblings as she remembered the threat Tenbu gave them on the tundra – what was their end goal? For a group that came out of nowhere, they were certainly making their new presence known across the lands.

Sensing his chakra nearby, she steps upon the carpeted hallway paused from the feel, the winds of movement as if caressing her back. Turning, there was no one behind her – only silence. Stepping towards his office door, she cautiously turned the doorknob, causing the door to give a slight creak. Closing the door behind her, she suddenly felt the familiar air of his chakra become closer – relieved that she could still sense chakra. Turning around towards his desk, she stood in timid silence as she watched him rise from his chair and approach her within moments.

"Gaara," She spoke, the words falling from her mouth. "I-,"

Before she had a chance to react, she felt his arms wrap around her, holding her tightly against his chest. Startling her, she could feel her body flinch from his surprising embrace, his hands pressed strongly upon the back of her flak jacket. After a moment, she felt his warmth of protection and worry envelop her, closing her eyes and holding him close in response, her fingers delicately grasping onto the fabric of his shirt. Aware that he was not the type to express his emotions in such a way, she welcomed the change with an open mind and patient heart.

Letting go, he gave her a concerned expression – worry and guilt entering a tug-o-war within his ringed eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I… think so," She nodded, meeting his worried stare.

The memory of her skin tingling with waves of pain entered her mind, prompting her to pull down her sleeve to see if her memory of its healing was correct. Examining the fair skin of her forearm, she could see a tiny indent where the enemy's weapon touched, marking her with a faint chain of rose discoloration. Although there was no longer any pain, the flash of the crystal shard that wounded her haunted her mind, her blood boiling in anticipation of another attack in response – the wolf inside of her terrified.

"My arm… The enemy used a strange weapon during our encounter. It… burnt me somehow. My kekkei genkai… I think it's sensitive to it. I'm still unsure of how it all happened." Straightening out her black sleeve, she gave him an assuring glance from her violet eyes, putting on a brave face that within herself was absent from her thoughts. "Sakura healed it, so I no longer have any pain, but it still tinges if I move it too fast. It's scarred slightly, too, but I'm alright."

"I see," He spoke with an adverted glance, his guilt-ridden expression unchanging from her light smile. Narrowing his eyes, he met her gaze in a serious nature. "Your message… It was them who attacked in Konoha, wasn't it? Tenbu."

"Yes," Looking down upon the floor, her mind felt their sinister presences return to her memories through a single breath, unnerving her despite knowing the room was completely safe – the fear within her was real. "Their chakra felt similar to that time, when we fought them in Yama… They also gave us the same message," Meeting his eyes, her lilac eyes narrowed in a stern yet worried nature. "' _From the Ashes_ '."

With a sigh, he acknowledged her answer, his head hung low in rumination of his present guilt. If only he could have been there to protect her, she would have never been hurt - he thought to himself repeatedly. In only a matter of weeks, Tenbu had been a thorn to his backside and his village, becoming a problem greater than he could have ever imagined – reminding him of the Akatsuki in a strange and eerie familiarity. The thought was unsettling to him, especially when they were amongst peaceful times with the other nations and villages.

"This is becoming troublesome," He said, his voice quiet. "I'm sorry you've been put through this."

Sensing his troubled expression, she smiled lightly – attempting to comfort the situation. "It's not your fault," She assured, her voice soothing to him, in a way. "Hopefully we can put an end to them soon, before they attempt to cross paths with us again." Realizing the time with her growing tiredness that creeped upon her body, she could feel her eyes become heavy with the desire for sleep. In her friendly nature, she softly smiled up at him as they stood across from another. "I should get going, it's getting late." Before she could turn towards the shuttered door behind her, her glance caught a glimpse of him reaching into his pants' pocket, striking her curiosity. "Hm?"

"Before you go, I have something I want to give you."

In his palm held out to her was a small glass container sealed shut with a cork, the contents of the translucent glass glimmering before her - sand. As she took it from his hand, she examined it with awe – amazed at the sight before her. The more she looked into the flask, the more the sand seemed almost alive – swirling within its contained prison.

"What is it?" She asked, watching the moving sands envelop in her palms. "It's so pretty."

"It's my sand," He replied. "I've sealed it in this flask as an active jutsu that will activate upon its release." Meeting his gaze of his seafoam eyes upon her, she could see the strength and protection for her mark his expression – unwavering. "If you ever find yourself in danger and I'm not there, please use it. That way, I can always protect you."

"I'll make sure I won't lose it!" She nodded, placing into her pack. Smiling softly, she looked up to his ringed-eyes, her violet eyes expressing her gratitude. "It's so thoughtful… thank you, Gaara."

In response, he smiled back, assured that his gift would bring him comfort knowing that it was in her possession at last. As she left his office, his gaze once again turned concerned as the knowledge of Tenbu troubled his mind. They have only been together for not even a month and there was a group hellbent on destroying them – an obstacle he was determined to overcome.

* * *

Before she could bring herself to sleep that night, Nomasaki stepped into her shower, opening her night-kimono's obi and allowing the silk-woven robe to fall off her scarred back – the fabric pooling onto the dewy tiled floor behind her. As she walked into the cloud of steam and warmth behind the curtain, she could feel instant relief and ease as she felt the sprinkles of hot water dot her skin along her collarbone and flow down to her legs, coursing over her slender and feminine figure of porcelain. While the water sprayed on her head of long strands of gold, she could not push back the thoughts of the wound she was dealt. Narrowing her lilac eyes in worry, she stared at the pale pink grooves that marked her arm as she felt her instincts raise a defensive snarl – whatever it was that injured her caused a deep upset in her psyche. As she stood silently amongst the drizzle of hot water, she wondered if her kekkei genkai had a weakness – if wolves had a weakness.

Accepting her thoughts, she agreed internally to her questions that their new enemies of Tenbu might be targeting her as well…


	50. Ultimatum

**Chapter 50  
** **Ultimatum**

* * *

Within the darkened confines of the tracking unit's meeting chambers...

Before her commander, Nomasaki knelt on her knee – her face concealed by the ceaseless snarling of her wolfish visage. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, he stood above her with his harsh face curved into a scowl – his scars meeting the small fragments of sunlight as they shone through the deteriorating ceiling above.

"It's unusual for you to approach me like this," Moro began, his tone stern. "What seems to be on your mind?"

"Moro-sama, I…" Nomasaki paused, her voice coming to a halt as she tried to frame her sentences carefully. "I would like to… ask for your permission to refrain from high-profile assignments for the time being. If it would be alright with the Tracking Unit, I would like to be assigned domestic duties. Temporarily, of course."

"This is highly unlike you," He replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "I overheard you were injured returning from Konoha. Is that why you're asking of this?"

Jolting, she felt her heart pound in her chest – did he know? Dancing around the possible answers she could give, she continued to assume he knew nothing of the sort. If he were to find out, it would be her ultimate shame. The very element that allowed her to stand out amongst the other tracker-nin – taken away momentarily by a mere shard of an unknown substance. She would be the laughingstock of her unit, known for her patchy-sensory-skills and uncontrollable wolfishness, or better yet – _the Wolf of the Desert who-was-no-longer-a-wolf_. The mere thought haunted her as if her worst nightmare.

"Yes, sir. I also would like to make an apology for this request. I know the unit is currently under strain… I'm sorry."

Uttering a sigh, he nodded once – his eyes closing towards the floor's broken tile beneath. "I can't make any promises, but I can assure you – your assignments will change as you requested." Looking upon her, he gave her a serious glance. "For now, your duty is to remain in the village as my right-hand, unless otherwise directed."

"Thank you, Moro-sama." She bowed, gratefully.

"You are dismissed," He spoke, watching her mask's snarling expression meet his harsh gaze. "Thanks to that new terrorist group encroaching on our lands, I have important matters to attend to."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Stepping out into the blinding sunlight that coated the roof of the deteriorating building, she untied the mask from her face, holding it in her palms as she looked upon her sand-ridden village with her own eyes. Looking down at the porcelain shroud she held in her hands, her lilac eyes saddened in self-pity as she gazed into its snarling expression of fierceness. Although she managed to hide her struggle from her commander, convincing herself that she could once more regain control would prove to be a difficult task. Although days later since she returned from Konoha, her kekkei genkai failed to activate when she would prepare to undergo the transformation. As if mocking her, her mask's muzzle curled towards her as her glance bore through it. While the desert winds whipped her golden hair against her sorrowful expression, she placed her mask within her satchel at her side.

Startling her, the winds of sand behind her began to manifest into a growing form as the sounds of moving grains caught her attention. Turning towards the mass of sand, it slowly grew into the shape of Gaara as the winds blew past, easing her guarded stance.

"You're not one to part with your mask," He spoke, stepping towards her as his apparition solidified. "Trying for a change?"

"Gaara!" She turned, meeting his calming and content glance. Although only a clone from his Third Eye Jutsu, she felt as if she were speaking to the real one. "Were you searching for me?"

"Yeah," He nodded. "If you have time, can you meet me at my office when you're finished here? There's something I must discuss privately with you."

Noticing the air of sternness within his turquoise eyes, she grew curious from his manner of approach – and its unsaid urgency. Something felt odd between them – and his request made her feel all the more concerned for what news might await her. Was it Tenbu? Her father? Or worse – did the council find out about the skirmish in Yama? Knowing the consequences, he could find himself within the ropes of trouble for such an act.

"Alright," She nodded, her glance calm – masking her previous evident sadness. "I'll be with you soon."

"I'll wait for you, then." He said with a small smile, acknowledging her answer. "Thank you."

Swiftly, the desert winds picked up around him. With each passing gust, the sands that composed his form disappeared into the flowing winds – taking him with it. After taking a final look upon the village before her, she turned away with blank lilac eyes, making her way towards the Kazekage's mansion in the shrouded distance – to where she was being summoned.

* * *

An hour later, dressed in her simple blue kimono, Nomasaki sat upon the edge of his wooden desk with a curious air to her drained lilac eyes, her palms resting upon the aged craftsmanship as she watched him finish his paperwork. It was amusing to witness him working by himself, she thought – reminding her of all the times she had to assist him finish his forms on time. Sitting in his chair, he swiftly signed the remaining sheets laid out on his desk – his eyes scanning each page's surface before moving on to the next.

"Did you end up finding anyone to replace me?" She brought herself to ask, trying to distract herself from her internal thoughts of despair. "Since I resigned, I mean."

"We've had a few applicants willing to take the task on," He answered, his glance unmoving. "However, they ended up resigning as well. They couldn't keep up with the workload as well as you did." Turning to her after the final stroke of his pen, he smiled lightly towards her. "You left big shoes to fill as my assistant, if I'm being honest."

Warming her heart, she smiled back at him. "Was I your favorite assistant?"

"You could say that."

As he sorted his last sheets of paperwork into the drawer of his desk, she chuckled silently to herself – amused by his subtle playful response. Although he was never the overtly affectionate type, he did have a charming way with words, which warmed her in a way.

"If you honestly wanted to, you could come back as my assistant. It would definitely save me more time from this mountain of paperwork."

Slightly surprised by his remark, she looked to him wide-eyed. With a brief chuckle upon her lips, she smiled back at him. "Wouldn't that be strange since we're together? I've got my hands full with the tracking unit, anyways."

"I know," He replied, fixing the last of the sheets into its bind. "Just a thought."

Watching him close his desk drawer, her glance turned curious as she remembered why she was there in the first place – he summoned her. "So," She began, her timid nature tinting her lilac eyes as she met his calm expression. "Why was it you summoned me? You said there was something we had to discuss… was it Tenbu?"

Her words striking his memory, he averted his gaze, slightly. "No, it's not that," He answered. "It's… something else."

Curiously, she watched him stand up from his seat, standing only breaths away from her perch upon his desk. Looking into her curious eyes of vibrant violet, he felt the slight nervousness return to his chest.

"The council…" He began, swallowing his hidden fluster of the topic, looking down in preparation. "Now that we're…" His words trailing, he brought himself to look her in the eyes – her expression attempting to decode what he was attempting to explain. The nervousness creeping in, he averted his glance, struggling to maintain his stoic nature. "In a… relationship," Looking up to her, he gave her an expression of calm. "Because I'm the Kazekage, I have to let the council know about this, for… protective reasons."

Flinching shyly from his words, she felt her cheeks redden slightly as she sat across from him in his office. Her glance trailing to her lap, she pondered to herself for a moment. Humbled that she would no longer be a secret from the council, the thought of her itching kekkei genkai still gnawed at her. Even as she sat before him, she could feel her wolf blood stir inside in distorted bewilderment. Still, she could not bring herself to tell him the truth of what the wound did to her that day when she crossed paths with the assassin from Tenbu. For now, it would be no one's business but hers – and she intended to keep it that way.

"R-Really?" She asked, her voice light and timid. "The council?"

"I know it's a pain," He sighed with a nod, his expression curving into a slight frown – glancing to his side. "But this is something we have to do." Noticing her shyness gleaming through her eyes, he gave her an assuring glance. "This will be over with shortly, I promise."

"Kazekage-sama,"

Directing their attention towards the open doorway, they saw a Suna shinobi waiting for them by the entrance to the corridor – their expression somewhat stern.

"The advisors are waiting in the council's chambers," They spoke. "Should I tell them you're ready for the meeting?"

"Yes," Gaara answered, his eyes serious. "Tell them we'll be with them shortly."

Nervously, Nomasaki watched the messenger leave into the winding hallway, her cautious eyes following his path. An unexpected arrival yet so sudden – especially after the moment Gaara disclosed their reason for meeting. She felt as if she were being put on the spot and she was going to approach it in strides – at least at the beginning.

"Come,"

Startling her from her thoughts, she turned towards the sound of his voice. As she glanced into his stoic expression, she noticed he had his palm held out towards her – sand surrounding the air between his fingers, swirling seamlessly.

"We should be on our way." He said. "We shouldn't keep them waiting."

Glancing down at his open palm, she looked back to him, her nervous eyes meeting his calm expression of slate. With a timid nod, her trembling hand joined his, the sand surrounding them growing and swirling rapidly. Unsure of what was happening, she shut her eyes and clung to him – the two of them disappearing with the sands.

* * *

Opening her eyes, she found herself before the open doors to the council's meeting chambers. Timidly, as she let go from his grasp, she watched his back as he entered the towering doorway before them – her eyes flickering nervously as she swallowed her thoughts, following behind him to finally confront the stubborn council. Unnerving her, she could feel her palms tremble at her sides, her blood beginning to slowly boil inside – her weak grasp of control returning at the worst possible time. Sensing the narrowed glances from the seated advisors, she retreated by the doorway, hoping her broken kekkei genkai would refrain from making an unwelcome appearance. Sitting before the young Kazekage in the presence of the massive stone statues of their past leaders, within the chamber were the four council elders – the advisors who seemed the most concerned regarding the proposed marriage arrangement – the ones most disappointed when it was rejected by the Kazekage, himself. Although the encompassing table was seated by only four members, the quiet only added to the potential intimidation.

Placing his folded hands upon the aged table, Zarō – the head advisor, faced the Kazekage from afar, his dark eyes narrowed sternly. "Gaara-sama," He began, the other councillors preparing for the discussion. "You've come to inform us of something?"

"Yes," Gaara nodded, his expression calm. "I'm here to confirm with the Suna Council…-," Unable to see her from the corner of his eye, he jolted slightly, turning briefly towards the doorway. Bringing himself to face them, he turned back towards them, averting his glance as the pressure mounted on his shoulders. "…my relationship with Nomasaki of the Yamamori clan."

"You may enter." One of the elders spoke, their voice echoing in the chamber – breaking apart the disgruntled whispers of their audience.

While the elders directed their attention towards the doorway, they witnessed the timid young woman step forward, pausing beside Gaara with her nervous glance averted from their intruding examination of her appearance. Knowing how they retained the old-age stigma against foreign-born and outsiders, she held no ill will towards them – although she would rather them get over it and leave them alone. The more she felt the unease, the more she could feel herself internally lose control. Bringing herself to hide her fear, she adorned a shroud of calm on her porcelain face, allowing her expression to act like her absent tracker mask.

"Thank you, sir." She said, meeting the elder's suspicious glare. "I… apologize for my late arrival. I don't mean any disrespect."

"How long has this relationship been transpiring?"

"About a month, sir." Gaara answered, feeling relief as he acknowledged her at his side. "Since the rejection of the arranged marriage proposed by the council and the Hoki Family."

"Keh!" One of the elders scoffed, grimacing. "As expected by our suspicions… you are having an affair with the outsider!"

"She's not an outsider," Another chided, turning to his comrade. "She's been a shinobi in our ranks for many years, now. This is no place for such ignorance!"

"Not to mention," Zarō entered, eyeing the disgruntled elder. "This woman is of our lands, as she was born to a Yama mother and a Suna father. She is therefore a citizen with our blood, whether you acknowledge it or not."

"Thank you, Zarō-sama," Gaara said, glancing towards him. "You saved me the trouble of interrupting this myself. Would that be all?"

While Nomasaki stood in silence, her fragmented hope for the meeting to end came crashing down the moment she saw the disgruntled elder stand from his seat, slamming his fists onto the table before them.

"Do you have any idea what this will do to the bloodline of your clan?! The Kazekage Clan's legacy is at stake… all because of your apparent selfishness!"

"A legacy that you cling to so frivolously," Gaara shot back, sternly. "This is not of your concern."

"As Kazekage, everything you do is a concern to us… as is the matter of Suna's future."

Glaring back in retaliation, Gaara stood quietly as they exchanged tense expressions with another from a distance. Catching her attention, Nomasaki grew curious, becoming worried of the interaction and the words they exchanged – something was going straight over her head and she was afraid to ask what exactly it was.

" _Future_? What's this all about?" She interrupted, placing her hand lightly on Gaara's shoulder. "Your bloodline? What do you mean?"

Meeting her confused and nervous gaze from her lilac eyes, Gaara bit his tongue – the shame and guilt returning into his eyes. "We don't have to discuss this here -,"

"Has Kazekage-sama not told you?" An elder scoffed. "We're here to discuss your union!"

"Union?" She repeated, her eyes widening. Looking back to Gaara, his ringed-eyes were averted from hers, looking towards the floor where they stood. "Gaara?"

Taking in a breath, he turned to face her honorably. While he looked into her eyes, he could not bring himself to hide the embarrassing truth from her any longer. "In order to reject the arranged marriage, I had to have a bride from Suna decided," He began, his tone quiet. "Nomasaki, this is a meeting to inform them of our…-,"

"Impending marriage!" One of the elders interrupted, drawing their instant attention. "We're looking forward to proceeding with the ceremony arrangements as soon as possible."

Freezing instantly from the elder's words, Nomasaki's eyes grew with shock, completely taken aback by the reveal of their intentions – her hand retreating from him suddenly. "M-Marriage?" She stammered, her voice quivering in her stunned state as she faced the elders. "So soon?"

"That was the clause for rejecting the arranged marriage," Gaara whispered, drawing close to her as he could sense her distress. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner… this doesn't change anything, I promise. We just have to let on to appease them… They will leave us alone soon enough…"

"Kazekage-sama, if I'm being completely honest, this arrangement is indeed quite a shock."

"Agreed," Another elder joined, nodding his turban-covered head. "The mixing of two clans can be dangerous -,"

As she stood in silent shock, their words trailed in her mind. While she could feel her fingers tremble at her sides, she felt as if her breathing was becoming forced, her eyes going wide in mounting panic. With each breath that passed through her lips, her blood boiled as the tremors traveled towards her shivering spine. Shaking silently as she stood in stunned anxiety, small waves of pain came with each inhale and ceased with each exhale. As her labored breathing became heavier as the councillor's voices fell on deaf ears, her face began to twist as the air was sucked through her mouth – revealing a grotesque form of a monster with an elongated snout, slit eyes, and a muzzle full of gleaming white fangs – only to disappear momentarily as the air left her lips. Trapped within a stunned cycle of beast and human fighting for control, she stood frozen in the chamber with her lilac eyes wide and directed towards the floor.

His words trailing off, the councillor paused his spiel towards her, gasping in shock as he caught of glimpse of what was becoming her – a monster. "W-What's happening?!" He stammered, his started voice alerting the other advisors and Gaara.

"Young woman!" Zarō shouted, biting his tongue at the beast before him. "Please, control yourself!"

Turning to her, Gaara witnessed the grotesque transformations with his own eyes – freezing him suddenly from the sight. Never before had he seen her take such a form – and so erratically. Heaving in her breaths, her soft human face distorted into a snarling beast back and forth as he watched her trembling hands clasp together against her throat – desperately wishing for the changing to stop.

"Nomasaki," He spoke, his ringed-eyes full of concerned shock. "Are you alright?"

Realizing the attention directed towards her, she cupped her hands over her twisting face and fled the room – her shaking body giving her the strength and will to run. "I-I have to go!"

"Wait! Nomasaki!" Gaara reached, running after her into the hallway. "I can explain-!"

"Kazekage-sama!" Zarō chided, standing up from his seat. "Get back here this instant!"

Stepping into the winding corridor outside, Gaara paused in his steps, his expression concerned and solemn. She had already fled the scene, not giving him the chance to explain anything further. Without a trace, she disappeared from the mansion's grounds – leaving him to contemplate what has transpired before the advisors.

* * *

As the afternoon approached, Gaara stood before her apartment door, unsure of how to settle the situation. Bringing himself to knock, the door slowly opened a crack – her saddened violet eyes peeking through. She appeared as if broken from merely her glance.

"Gaara," She spoke, her tone dull. "I thought I could sense you approaching. What is it?"

As he made eye contact with her, his suspicions were found to be true. Stepping forward, he gave a concerned glance towards her. "Can I… come in?"

Hesitantly, she nodded, opening her worn apartment door for him. As he followed her inside, he noticed that she was clothed in a night-robe, its blue fabric gleaming from the scattered rays of the sun that peaked through her uneven curtains. On the tiny kitchen counter were sake bottles shoved into a corner, while the sink dripped from its aged facet. Glancing towards the shelves upon the wall, books were spilling from its contents and mission papers were scattered upon a space over the tiled floor. His first glimpse into her home life was something he did not expect. Knowing her as a tidy and organized individual from their previous work experience together, he was surprised to learn how disorderly she was in her own home – or perhaps he arrived at a bad time?

Sitting across from her on the worn sofa in her living room, he glanced down upon his lap, pondering his words as the memory of guilt seeped into his mind, his ringed-eyes closing halfway while he felt her curious and somber glance on him. Beside him, she sat with her legs folded upon the sofa's pale green fabric, waiting for him to speak the words he searched for, her eyes visibly drained and defeated.

"I wanted to apologize for earlier," He began. "It was wrong of me to hide that…"

"Me, too… I also would like to apologize for my behavior," She nodded, her voice quiet. "I… got a bit overwhelmed back there, I'm sorry."

Turning to her, his expression became painted in concern – his seafoam eyes tinted in worry. "How come you didn't tell me what happened? Temari told me about the wound."

Jolting, his words startled her. Clutching the fabric of her kimono that covered her knees, its blue material bunched in her palms as his question shivered through her. Her worst concern was realized – he knew. Ashamed, she held her head down, looking upon her lap in disgrace and sorrow.

"I didn't want you to worry about me… Also," Glancing down, she examined her spread palms upon her lap, narrowing her glance at her fingers – feeling her boiling blood come to a stop then start repeatedly. "It's… embarrassing… I don't even know why it affected me this way. It… scares me… I can't control it like I used to, I feel so off balance. I'm living in constant fear I will suddenly change… just as I did in the council chambers earlier." Curiosity entering her pained eyes, she turned to him – bracing herself for his response to her question. "If it's alright of me to ask, is this how you felt when Shukaku was taken from you?"

Startling him slightly, he took in her words with an open mind. His eyes closed halfway as he gazed at his lap, he remembered the odd sensation he felt when he found himself alive in that grassy field in the Land of Rivers – resurrected after the extraction of the one-tail. Feeling as if a part of him was absent, he returned to the land of the living as if a hollow shell of his former self. Months after, his sand prowess would be nearly absent and difficult to control, his second-nature torn from him suddenly and with no memory of it parting from his body. At death, he felt a vivid burning pain that was soon quelled with peace as he opened his eyes before his comrades – but his constant sand that bent at his will was shockingly absent. Fortunately, his prowess eventually returned, and even greater than it was before.

However, for Nomasaki, he could only imagine the fear she had for her own predicament. Although her entire kekkei genkai was not permanently lost, her chakra was somehow greatly disrupted by whatever the enemy used on her – her balance was lost and she had no recollection of how to restore it. As someone who identified with her wolfishness in her everyday life, she had great difficulty grappling with her new reality, and the evidence was clearly visible upon her exhausted eyes. From the corner of his eye, he could make out the faded texture of her wound in the scattered sunlight that shone through her window – its indent provoking great empathy and concern.

"Yes," He nodded. "It was an adjustment, but it became easier with time." Turning to meet her gaze, he gave her a comforting expression, a light smile upon his lips. "You'll have it figured out soon. You're determined and strong-willed, I know you can overcome this… whatever this is."

Feeling his comfort, a subtle smile formed on her lips, assured by his words. "Now it's my turn," She began, her tone sounding brighter. "Why was it you kept the 'marriage-clause' a secret from me, anyways?"

"It's not that I kept it a secret, I forgot." He replied. "I didn't realize they wanted to confirm an arrangement so soon, so I…-?"

Timidly, she positioned herself before him on the sofa, her knees sinking into the cushion as she sat close to him with a playful yet calming air to her expression. Catching his attention, he gave her a curious glance, unsure of her sudden closeness.

"Gaara," She spoke, her voice somewhat stern. "If as Kazekage, an arrangement is something you must do… may I present you and the council an ultimatum?"

"An ultimatum?" He repeated. "What do you mean?"

"If a marriage is required, I will accept." She revealed, edging closer to him, her lilac eyes gleaming in seriousness as a smile painted her lips. "As long as it's when we can both decide, and not the council or the advisors. If it can be our decision, and our decision only."

Nodding once, he gave a comforting smile towards her. "I'm sure we can have that arranged."

Warmly, she smiled from his answer. "Gaara, sit still for a moment."

Confused by her request, he sat in wide-eyed silence as she sat only breaths away from him that afternoon. Softly, she placed her lips upon his, gingerly placing her palms along his jawline – fighting her incessant urges to change as she could feel her canines begin to grow within her jaws from the excitement. Luckily, she kept them at bay. Carefully, he leaned forward and returned her affections, holding her close.

As their lips parted, he gazed into her vibrant eyes – their familiar air of warmth returning. "Anything else?"

Chuckling lightly to herself for a moment, she smiled back – their foreheads touching as they sat in embrace. "That's all."


	51. Midnight

**Chapter 51  
** **Midnight**

* * *

As occurrences of Tenbu assassins began to slowly spread to various outposts within the Land of Wind, their shadows soon spread.

Sunagakure stepped up their border security in the weeks following the encounter with Tenbu in Konohagakure. Dotted along the towering cliffs that shielded the village from the elements, dozens of Suna ANBU were posted at every nearly every corner, while a scattered amount of troops patrolled along the village streets, scanning the area thoroughly for invaders and assassins alike. Although the Kazekage Clan lived far within vast desert, their descendants were unknown and scarce, meaning Tenbu's prime targets were within the heart of Suna - the Fourth Kazekage's legacy, the famed Sand Siblings who gained their notoriety during the Konoha Crush mission many years ago. Following the reports of similar assassins being discovered in their lands, the Kazekage's mansion began to become heavily guarded by ANBU, making it near impregnable to the outside.

"Remember, if you see any of those men… attack on sight!"

Tenbu were indeed a group hellbent on taking over the previous niche of the Akatsuki, and their political motives were beginning to become disruptive.

* * *

Late one night, sitting on her bed with a book cracked open, Nomasaki began to grow more tired as the clock ticked past midnight.

She was only ten pages away from reaching the story's end, but her sleep was beginning to make an appearance – interrupting her focus however briefly. While her internal struggle with disappointment showed no sign of resistance, she often felt some form of comfort by grazing through the pages of the vast amount of novels that cluttered upon her shelf. To some degree, it offered a decent distraction from her unpredictable wolfishness that sprang at each opportunity to throw her off-balance.

Still – one month later - she was unable to fully change form willingly.

Remembering the object across from her, she lifted her gaze towards the front of the room. Across from her upon her nightstand, the gift she received from Gaara was sitting idly upon the desk – the sand inside of its glass prison swirling smoothly as her eyes examined it from afar. Wondering to herself if she would ever have to use it, the memories of Tenbu and her burning wound pulsed through her, chilling her. As she felt her eyes grow heavy with approaching sleep, she could not bring herself to focus on the book laid out before her, surrending her head to rest upon the blankets at her lap, dozing off on her hand.

Jolting her awake, she sensed a cold desert wind enter through her open window, causing her to rise with a flinch. Swirling from the rising winds, a stream of sand blew through almost instantly. Alerting her immediately, she sensed his warm familiar chakra enter the room, surprising her in the night. Within a wisp of wind from the drawn curtains, the sands slowly took the form of Gaara. At such a late hour at night, the Kazekage was her guest.

"Ah!"

She hopped towards the window, closing it to stop the draft, placing her novel upon the windowsill. Lightly, she chuckled to herself from his surprising arrival.

"You startled me!" Tiredly, yet with adoration and cheerfulness within her gaze, she looked up at him within her darkened bedroom. "I thought you weren't coming over until tomorrow. Didn't you say you had some council business to take care of?"

Longing in his stoic and calm eyes, he gazed into hers of warm lilacs, a soft smile forming on his lips as he stood before her. "I couldn't wait," He spoke, quietly. "I had to see you."

Warmly, she smiled up at him. For a brief moment, he stared at her, intently, as the moonlight filled the room in illuminating fragments of night. As she could feel his mysterious ringed-eyes gazed deep into her timid glance, she could feel her face begin to redden. Even from a mere glance, she felt defenseless in the most comforting way.

"Can you… be still?" He asked, in hush tones, his expression seeming timid. "I would like to… try something. Is that… okay?"

Blushing and nervous, she nodded. "Y-Yes."

For a brief moment, he hesitated, pondering how exactly he was going to proceed. As he found himself getting lost in her wondrous violet eyes, he felt his unwavering longing for her take the forefront of his mind – his heart pounding with desire as they stood only breaths apart from another. In that moment, he could not hold himself back any longer. Closing his eyes, his lips softly met hers. As they parted with a breath, she returned the favor as gentle as could be, placing a soft palm upon his warm cheek. Taking another silent breath apart, he held the back of her head as their lips met once more, his fingers gingerly grasping the strands of golden silk while his idle hand trailed to her waist, feeling its alluring and subtle curve.

Letting him know the feeling was definitely mutual between them, she brought herself closer to him as she softly placed her lips upon his, her delicate fingers running through his hair of crimson as she fought the internal urge to have her fangs make an appearance from their rising passion. The insurmountable excitement building within her fluttering chest was provoking her wolfishness, and the desire to become all that she was grew with each moment she spent in his arms.

She took the risk.

Their foreheads touching as their lips parted, Gaara looked deeply into her eyes that night. Her face blushing as she stood in his arms, her heart raced in her chest from his embrace and from the draft that entered through the window. The moonlight that entered was their only source of light in the darkness, the bed exerting its gravitating presence behind them. As he stroked the side of her soft face with his callused fingers, he came in contact with the long strands of gold that fell over her shoulders. In the moonlight, her hair shone as if woven silk. Intertwined in his fingers, he near became lost in his fascination. With her hands around his neck, she timidly inched herself closer.

"Gaara, you can... touch me."

Her voice was as gentle as a whisper. Surprising him, his glance in her eyes froze with his ringed-eyes wide in nervousness. He felt as if he could combust at that moment. She was looking up at him with her eyes of gentle lilacs, her soft face illuminated by the moonlight. In only moments, he found himself lost within her. Taken aback by her timid plea, he was unsure of what she meant.

"Touch... you?" He repeated, silently. "Nomasaki -,"

"I was... never touched before," She confessed, her timid eyes glistening with desire and longing. "You were never touched either..." Softly, he felt her place her palm over his. "Here, let me... show you..."

Gingerly, she guided his hand from her cheek and slid it down the smooth material of her blue silken robe.

Startling him inside, he felt the soft curve of her breast as he grazed the fabric with his fingers, and with her gentle guide, she took him further. Her eyes gazing into his as they stood only breaths apart, she slid his palm down to the curve of her waist. Swallowing his nervousness as he relaxed his hands upon her, he felt the shape of her hips, the gentle touch of her hand over his assuring him that it was alright. Timidly, her palm guided his further below towards the soft curve of her backside. The feel of her in his palm near made him breathe aloud from the sensation, never having touched a woman - or any woman - and so intimately. The pleading glance her glistening violet eyes gave him only made his want for her stronger.

Desire suddenly flowed into his thoughts, shutting out the nervousness as his grip upon her strengthened.

With a sudden force, he kissed her amidst their passionate embrace, surprising her from his change in dominance. As she wrapped her arms around him, she could feel him push her down onto her mattress, their bodies pressed against each other on top of the blankets. As things became heated, he found his hands straying to her waist as his throbbed for hers, holding her tight against him as his lips continuously crashed into hers with no sign of stopping. Her breaths growing heavy in between their passionate kisses, she traced her fingers along his jawline while she could feel him press against her with his unhinged desires.

As if in a single night, the calm and collected Kazekage had unraveled.

His clothed body felt so warm to her as he lay over her on the bed, his strong and gentle hands exploring her cautiously under her robe's cover as they became lost in another. His fingers timidly grazed over the cotton fabric of her underwear, relaxing upon the soft skin of her waist. To him, her skin was as smooth as porcelain itself and surprisingly cold to the touch. At the back of his mind, he worried that he would break her in his hold. Trailing, her delicate ivory fingers found their way to the buttons of his shirt, undoing the first few before one of his kisses upon her made her gasp from the rising passion. His skin was so warm, so comforting, and so gravitating. She could not stop thinking about how she fantasized of him, and now he was there. Caressing her skin on her bed, her body ached for him to go further.

It was at that moment where she decided she wanted _all of him_.

She was becoming overwhelmed with the fire that was burning within her, a strange feral hunger awakening within her blood. Without thinking, as she lay submissive under him, she led his hand over the smooth fabric of her silk robe again, wanting him to free her from her clothes that bound her. Caressing the smooth fabric of her full chest, his palm traced over a soft curve as his hand slipped inside. Cupped under his sand-ridden palm was her breast - smooth, cold, and perked from his touch. Her heart raced inside as she felt his strong hand glide over her skin beneath the shield of her silken robe. She was near certain that he could sense her trembling heart beat.

Feeling her soft skin on his fingers, he flinched, his lips parting from her suddenly.

Meeting his wide eyes, she was lost on breath, speechless from it all. Pausing, he backed away from her, turning and sitting on the edge of her bed, his feet upon the cold floor. Sitting up on the sheets, she looked to the back of his burgundy shirt that was facing her, sensing a disconnect as concern entered her pleading eyes.

"Gaara," She spoke, confused. "What's wrong?"

In silent embarrassment, he closed his eyes while averting his glance from her, shame painting his solemn expression. Feeling a cold draft upon her chest, she glanced down and realized her position. Her robe was beginning to slip from her shoulders, her breasts nearly exposed to him in the night. Flinching timidly, she swiftly fixed her robe, pulling her obi tight in its knot. As he continued with his silence, she edged closer to him on the bed, her lilac eyes worried for the sudden stop of his affections.

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry," He spoke, quietly, not meeting her glance. Opening his eyes, he averted his gaze to the side, his glance narrowed in shame. "I'm… afraid…-," His words trailed, unable to finish his explanation.

"Afraid?" She repeated, curiously. "Afraid of what?"

Swallowing the last of his remaining pride that night, he gave in to her pleas for answers – exposing himself and his fears in the process. "I'm afraid of being… intimate…" He confessed, his tone quiet. "I was never… in this position before… What if I… hurt you? I would never be able to forgive myself if I did…"

Slightly surprised by his words, she looked upon his back with a sympathetic glint to her lilac eyes. "Gaara…"

"I've been trying to overcome it since we returned from Yama, but…-," He held his head down, shamefully. "I never thought I would be with someone this way at all, or would even want to be with someone physically… But with you," Turning to meet her glance, his saddened gaze locked onto her gleaming lilacs before him, his seafoam eyes pained and full of shame and deep longing. "I would do anything."

His words surprising her, she gently smiled at him. "Hey," She cooed, as she placed her hands on his shoulders, comforting him. "It's alright, I understand. I'm nervous too, but… we can get past this, together."

Humbled, gave a subtle nod, relieved of her understanding and grace. A small smile on his face in a near playful nature, he glanced towards her. "Don't tell Kankuro." He joked, almost whisper-like. "I mean it."

"I won't! Why on earth would I do that?!"

After a quiet laugh, Nomasaki moved in closer towards him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I… might have an idea… to, um… try to make you more comfortable."

"What's that?"

Looking down in her thoughts, she blushed vividly at the thought. "Sleep with me, just for tonight," She whispered, her soothing breath caressing his ear. "I know you still have your struggles with insomnia, and I asked last time, but…-,"

To her surprise, he softly kissed her forehead in the silence. Looking deep into her wide eyes, he nodded, smiling warmly at her flustered expression. "Okay."

As she made her way into the bedsheets, Gaara laid down on the blankets as he did that time while they were in Yama together, resting his head on the pillow next to her. "I'm… not ready to try sleeping in the blankets, but I can hold you, like last time."

"As long as you're comfortable, I'm happy."

While he could feel her curves nest beside him, he began to feel hot in the face, faintly blushing from her sleepy closeness. Wrapping his arms around her, he noticed her skin was not only soft, but slightly cold to the touch, as if it were the smoothest and most comforting ice.

"Your skin," He said. "It's cold."

"Hm?" She turned. "I've never noticed. You desert-folk are more sensitive to the cold, anyways."

"Desert-folk?"

Sleepily, she chuckled to herself. "It's what we called anyone from the Land of Wind, when I grew up in Yama. Hanone would call you that all the time to me."

Sadness entering her eyes momentarily, she remembered her late wolf guardian. His thick white fur, the presence of his protective chakra - her comrade. Because of him and his sacrifice, she was able to survive the war. Not a day has passed since where she had not thought of him – and she wondered what he would think of her current state. Would he consider her a failure – or would he have offered some form of guidance? Her lilac eyes enveloping with shame and sorrow, she became lost in her thoughts.

"I know it's been more than two years since, but... I miss him…"

For a moment, Gaara thought to himself, feeling her grief and sorrow from her great loss. Although he did not quite like Hanone or what he had to say at times, he acknowledged that the wolf meant a great deal to her. Resting his head on the pillow beside her, he turned to her, sympathetically gazing into her eyes, hoping to ease her pain somehow.

"We don't exactly have a word for your people here," He replied, changing the subject back to its main path. "Since Yama was isolated and we had little contact."

"What do you call others not from the desert, then?" She asked, looking up at him with a soft smirk. "Anything at all?"

"'Foreigner'."

Noticing how comfy and at ease she appeared in the blankets beside him, he could not help but gently smile to himself in awe. Even just being close to her was enough to fill him with content. Remembering what his late uncle Yashamaru spoke to him as a child, love was indeed something precious, he thought.

"Or in your case, we can now say… 'mountain-folk', if that's alright."

While she gave a comforted smile as she lay enveloped in the blankets with her back towards him, his glance grew concerned as he averted his eyes – pondering about the mysterious attack that occurred in Konoha over a month ago. Although she appeared calm and at ease within the sheets at his side, he could feel her subtle trembling – wondering if she was still struggling with control over her kekkei genkai. His curiosity getting the better of him, he brought himself to ask his question.

"I've never asked, but… how are you able to sense things?"

Catching her attention from the beckoning comfort of sleep, she turned to him groggily. "Hm? You mean my sensory skills?" Seeing his nod, she turned her back towards him, her eyes narrowing in self-pity. "I've never really thought about it because it's so second-nature… but I think it's the same as the animals, so nature energy, I suppose."

Pushing her troubling thoughts to the backburner of her mind, albeit briefly, she lightly smiled to herself, taking in the comforting and strong chakra that surrounded her in her bed from her visitor. It filled her scattered senses with warmth and peace, distracting her from the unnerving reality in which she was trapped. The fire to her ice, the sand to her snow – the complete opposite from another, yet still so meant to be.

"It requires precise chakra control. If I can't control it, I revert to my wolf form… so I always have to concentrate." Remembering her scarred wound, she gazed down at her faded mark upon her forearm, her eyes narrowed at its imperfect and burgeoning impact. "I… still haven't been able to control my kekkei genkai since that day… My sensory skills have turned patchy, my wolfishness makes unwarranted appearances – it's awful. Each day, it's been getting easier, but…-," Her words trailed, frustration entering her strained throat. "I can't maintain my transformation for long. I become stuck within the change, my blood boils and I…-,"

Sensing her quivering sadness, he gave her an empathetic glance from his seafoam eyes. "Is that how you're able to sense me?" He asked, silently, hoping to detract from her silent upset. "Even as my sand?"

After giving a gentle nod, her expression grew worried under the cover of her blankets. "I noticed the Kazekage's mansion being under tight surveillance as of late. Tenbu… I hope we're able to put an end to them before something terrible happens."

"You have nothing to worry about, they're not after you." He assured. "Even so, they're nothing but mere bandits with a vendetta against my family."

"They could be after me," She answered. "That weapon they used nullified my powers. For all I know, they could be. As for you… -," Flipping over to face him, her concerned lilac eyes met his gaze, despite his attempt to ease her thoughts. "I worry about you. Just because you're the Fifth Kazekage doesn't mean I won't stop worrying about you in times like these."

"No matter how many times I tell you not to worry?"

Gingerly, she placed her cold palm upon his cheek, nodding once as she gazed into his ringed-eyes. "I will always worry about you, because I care about you." She whispered, preparing for sleep. "I love you."

Surprised by her choice in words, he felt warm inside – her touch soothing and assuring all at once. Gently, he smiled to himself, placing his hand on hers. "I love you, Nomasaki." He whispered. After a shared moment in tenderness, he gave a brief sigh in approaching tiredness – his insomnia finally catching up to him. "You should go to sleep. You need your rest."

Turning over in the bed, she glanced at him for a moment, a playful light smile curved upon her lips. "And you? Where will you go? I'm not sure if you're the real 'Gaara' or just a clone. Should I open the window?"

Very briefly, a silent chuckle escaped his lips, amused by her questions. "I'll try my best to… stay here." He replied, his tone quiet. "Sleeping isn't exactly easy for me. In case I can't stay for long, I will say…-," Curiously, as she turned her head to meet his gaze within the darkness of the night, he gave her a gentle smile. "Goodnight."

Humbled by his words, she turned back to her side of the bed, a smile of warmth and comfort etched upon her face as she welcomed the approach of sleep. For all but a moment, she forgot about the boiling blood under her skin.

Allowing herself to enjoy her humanity for another night.

* * *

When Nomasaki awoke that morning, she stirred amongst the sheets with a fang-riddled yawn of her jaws.

Turning over in the bed, her fingers grazed the cold texture of the blankets beside her. Startling her, she touched nothing - only the space between. Sitting up with a nimble stretch in her wrinkled robe, there was not a trace of him left in her bed except for the tiny grains of sand in his place. With wide lilac eyes, she examined the grains in her palm, letting them slip smoothly through her fingers. Although unable to sleep himself, he still stayed with her as long as could – whether he was a Sand Clone or not.

It humbled her, in a way.

Sighing to herself, she slid out of bed and started towards towards the hall. As she walked past the window, something gleamed at the corner of her eye. Pausing, she turned towards it. To her surprise, there was a tiny plump cactus on the windowsill dotted with glistening blue blossoms. A rare and beautiful find, she could tell that it was the cactus species from the Land of Frost they talked about on their first date. Humbled, she smiled to herself from the surprise gift. Catching her attention, she noticed something was nestled beside it in its pot - a note.

Opening it, she read its contents to herself in a hushed tone.

" _This is for you - Happy Birthday. See you soon. From the desert-folk… Gaara_."

Flattered, she warmly smiled to herself, catching a flush of reddening upon her cheeks.

He truly was a thoughtful man, she thought. Although she only mentioned the date as an afterthought, she was honored that he remembered despite it all. Turning twenty was off to a great start. Not only had she survived a war, she managed to live past the fatal ripe age of a shinobi emerging adulthood - cheating death for yet another year. Although her bones ached for the cold of winter, her skin was growing accustomed to the warm winds of spring, beckoning her towards the faint sunlight of her room.

Turning, she placed the note by the cactus and walked towards her closet at the corner of her darkened room. Opening its worn handles with a slight creak, her lilac eyes suddenly turned ashamed. Staring ahead at her mission attire, her tracker-nin mask was snarling back at her, facing her in its menacing and mysterious expression. Its shape likened to that of a wolf, with pointed ears, elongated snout, and slanted eyes, it struck a chord within her – to be reminded of the failure she was. Her tracking unit comrades often called her by the moniker ' _the Wolf of the Desert_ ', but as of late, she felt the name was inappropriate. Donning her black shirt, she adjusted its long sleeves, grazing over the tear she sewed when she returned from Konoha – the sting of her scarred wound echoing through her mind as she merely touched its threaded texture. After putting on her pants, she zipped her flak jacket and stepped towards her nightstand, directing her attention towards the flask of sand.

Grasping it, she placed it into her satchel, and stepped back towards her closet. Reluctantly, she placed her snarling mask on her porcelain face.

Prepared for her next mission…


	52. Spring On the Winds

**Chapter 52  
** **Spring On the Winds**

* * *

Finally, the crisp airs of winter faded into the skies.

Within an instant, it seemed as though the ice gave way for the budding flowers of the soil and the cherry blossom trees shook their hibernation shrouds and burst with an aura of calming pink. On that morning within the dense forested lands of the Land of Fire, the small troupe of desert-dwellers made their way upon the worn path, heading towards the direction of Konohagakure. Attending Naruto's wedding to Hyūga Hinata would prove be the event of a lifetime, with every Kage and their respective entourages journeying to the village within the forest to pay tribute to the happy couple – and the hero of the great war that plagued the lands only two years ago. As the young Kazekage and his siblings continued through the Land of Fire, a warm spring breeze flew past them, swaying the leaves on tree branches as if in a welcoming manner, signifying that spring was indeed on the winds. While they chatted about what the big day would bring, they approached the cover of shadows from the trees above, the path soon weaving into the depths of the dense and lush forest, the sunbeams peeking through the canopy with a friendly warmth.

As they made their way through the forested road, Gaara paused, feeling as though he was being watched from the cover of shadows. Sensing a chakra nearby, but unable to tell if it was an adversary or not, he took it as a warning. Far beyond the path, he could feel a pair of eyes locked onto him from the trees – peculiar, he thought. Narrowing his ringed-eyes, he glanced towards he felt them staring.

"Temari, Kankuro," He spoke, his tone stern. "You go on ahead."

Curiously, the both paused, turning to him, noticing the sudden stern expression upon his face that morning. "What is it, Gaara?" Kankuro asked. "Something wrong?"

Gesturing towards the forest path behind, Gaara prepared himself for an encounter – whether it be human or beast. "There's a person tailing us, but I don't think it's cause for alarm." He replied. "I'll only be a moment."

Slightly confused, Kankuro nodded, brushing off his concern. "Sure thing, little brother."

"We'll wait for you up ahead," Temari added, walking forward. "Don't take too long, now."

As the footsteps of his brother and sister faded away into the forested path ahead, he directed his attention towards the darkened thicket. Alone, he looked into the forest with a serious glance, solidifying his stance in the dirt, ready to potentially face an unexpected enemy – the thought of Tenbu and their mercenaries entering his mind.

"Show yourself!" He ordered, briskly. "I know you're there."

Suddenly, within the movement of the tree leaves, he turned to meet his adversary. Behind the blackened trunks of the trees and looking directly into the darkness of the surrounding forest, his eyes widened slightly. Before him, a silhouette of a wolf was staring into him, their ghostly white figure locking eyes with him as the forest around them fell silent. The creature's eyes gleamed from the scattered sunlight, revealing them to be a subtle shade of lilac, although a hint of strain was seeped into them. Stepping out of the darkness as if flowing from the image of the wolf, a masked shinobi appeared with a shudder and a wince of burning pain, their utters of injury silenced by their porcelain shroud. With long golden strands tucked in behind their wolf-shaped mask and wearing the Suna flak jacket, he knew exactly who it was. While his expression and stance calmed, his eyes grew concerned.

"Nomasaki?"

The masked kunoichi nodded, biting her lip to suppress her tinging muscles as she knelt before him. "The council wanted to make sure you were safe and asked the tracking unit to shadow you," She answered. "Being that you're venturing off alone with your siblings during this difficult time, as those mercenaries from Tenbu are becoming a nuisance." Glancing down for a moment, her saddened eyes thought of her comrades in the tracking unit – worry overtaking her mind between their in-vain searching for Tenbu's hideout and her broken kekkei genkai. "I was originally tasked to perform domestic duties while I wait out my strength, but…" Meeting his concerned gaze, she gave an assuring glint from her violet eyes. "I opted to accompany you on this assignment. They trust me greatly, so there was no need for thorough convincing on my part."

Her comment surprised him, his eyes slightly widening from her words. As dangerous as Tenbu were, she narrowly escaped a potentially fatal mistake if she were to stay in Suna. There was no telling when she would be deployed to scout for Tenbu's whereabouts, with no choice in the matter as their numbers in the tracking unit were low as it was – and her abilities were not yet fully restored, as he could see the pain within the eyes of her mask. For a moment, seeing her before him gave some assurance, but the troubling thoughts of worry would not cease in his mind.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, his glance concerned. "Are you able to control your kekkei genkai?"

"Not quite," She spoke, averting her gaze towards the greening grass. "I can change form, but my body… it still hurts. At least I have more control, but I'm still far from feeling like myself."

"Do _they_ know?"

"No," She shook her head, her voice low. "The tracking unit knows nothing of it."

"I see," He nodded, looking down with eyes closed halfway. "Is it safe for you to hide such a thing from them? Moro-sama named you his right-hand, what would he do if he found out?"

"I can't imagine I would be punished. Suspended from duty – yes. But punished? No." Hiding an assuring smile behind the cover of her mask, she glanced up at him. "My mission from now until after the wedding is to see that you and your siblings reach Konoha safely and return to Suna. That's a direct order from the council, and I intend to see it through." Her lilac eyes averting him for a moment, she grew guilty and embarrassed. "My apologies I can't attend the wedding with you. It's been a while since I've spoken to Naruto, I wish them all the best."

Feeling somewhat comforted by her words, he nodded, a small smile on his lips. "I'll make sure to give them your message."

"You're too kind," She chuckled, lightly. "I'll be seeing you when you return, yes?"

"Of course."

Smiling under her mask, she gave a brief nod as she stood on her feet. "Until next time,"

As a breeze swayed through the trees, within a tremor and a wince, she traded her human skin for the pelt of a wolf – her muzzle releasing a pained snarl as she bounded through the forest past him – disappearing within the shadows as a flash of white, unseen except by the winds. Despite being relieved to see her safe with his own eyes, deep down he felt concern for the inevitable. Although she was safe from harm, thoughts of Tenbu still flooded his mind. She was a tracker-nin, and with that, she accepted the responsibilities and the risks of being a shinobi. But still, he did not want her to get hurt by those who were after him – who may also be after her, leaving him torn inside. Brushing aside his troubling thoughts, he turned his stance and started on his way to rejoin his siblings along the forested path – hoping that he could enjoy at least a moment of peace.

* * *

Near the Hokage's mansion in the heart of the village, the Kazekage and his siblings were invited to stay at the elegant suites in the upper district. Luxurious, simple, and prestigious, they were welcomed guests in their chambers with the other Kage following suit and sharing the suites next door, with guards and ANBU lining the vast corridor that housed the five leaders and their entourage. Thanks to the word of Tenbu, the ANBU were working overtime in their best abilities to quell a possible ambush during the one of the most important political marriages in Konoha's history – ringing alarm bells within the inner circles of the great villages, news of Tenbu spreading from east to west.

On the table before them as they sat on the velvet couches, there was a bottle of unopened sake and some chocolate sweets laid out for them – gifts for attending the wedding, perhaps? Disappearing from sight within the large room, Temari sneakily approached the sliding door, stepping behind the couches in utmost silence - hoping to not gain the unwanted attention of her brothers.

"Where are you off to, Temari?" Kankuro smirked, glancing towards her. "Going to meet up with that Nara guy again?"

Jolting, she could feel her body freeze in a state of fluster. "Huh?!" She whipped her head towards him, her face turning red instantly. "N-No! I-I'm stepping out, and it's none of your goddamn business!"

Taking a shot of a sake as the sliding door slammed shut, Kankuro leaned back in his seat, relaxing after a long day's journey on foot. "Geez," He sighed. "In a bad mood again, like the last time we were in Konoha…"

With a sneaky grin on his face, he turned to his younger brother, who sat across from him with his arms folded against his chest – the Kazekage's expression stoic and trapped in his internal thoughts.

"Do you think she's still seeing him, Gaara?"

Gaining his attention briefly, Gaara put his thoughts aside in his mind. "Who knows," He replied, turning to him. "I wouldn't be surprised. And she's right - that's none of our business. Although, if true, I'm not opposed. Shikamaru seems… to fit her well."

Chuckling to himself, Kankuro leaned forward, placing his glass on the table. "I would've never thought that I would be the only single Sand Sibling," He sighed, pouring another drink. Gesturing the bottle to his younger brother, Gaara shook his head in response – still swearing off alcohol. With a shrug of his shoulders, Kankuro took another sip of sake. "I'm still surprised you and Nomasaki really hit it off!"

Surprised, Gaara jolted from the mention of her name. "O-Oh," He acknowledged, averting his glance in fluster. "Thanks. She… said she can't make it to the wedding."

"Ah, really? That's too bad."

Sitting in silence, Gaara looked down upon his lap, pondering about many things. Tenbu, the wedding, the council, his relationship, wolves, the strange weapon that rendered his partner defenseless – all fighting for dominance in his troubled thoughts. While his eyes narrowed in suspicion, he could not help but think about what may wait in the future.

"By the way, since it's been at least a few months," Kankuro began, turning towards him with a curious look to his dark eyes. "Did you two…?" Realizing his brother's eyes upon him, he averted his glance in awkward regret. "Never mind, I shouldn't be asking… That's none of my business."

"What?"

"Did you two… ya know…? Seal the deal?"

Confused by the broken question, Gaara was unreachable, his eyes conveying his perplexed curiosity. Dismayed by his glance, Kankuro turned away, coughing awkwardly into his fist, hoping to hurdle over his fatal mistake of a question – but Gaara's glance towards him seemed determined to figure out what it was he was going to ask.

"Did you… do it?" Kankuro uttered, quietly. "Did your sand… get…-? No, no… that sounds wrong… Forget it!"

"I don't understand…?" Gaara pressed, raising a nonexistent brow at him, his eyes narrowed. "What are you asking?"

"I told you, it's none of my business!"

Upon seeing Gaara's furrowed brow in stubborn sternness, Kankuro grimaced to himself – wishing he never began to ask the question in the first place. With a shiver, he averted his glance, focusing on his beckoning sake.

"Did you two… have sex…?"

Instantly, Gaara's expression went blank, his face turning red in embarrassed fluster as his palms flinched at his lap. Thoughts suddenly running rabid in his mind, he was barely able to embrace her, let alone be intimate in such a way, his awkward fear towards it taking hold in his psyche – gnawing at his unspoken vulnerability.

"K-Kankuro -!" He could only bring himself to stammer his name, biting his tongue in held fury.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Kankuro cowered, avoiding eye contact. "You kept asking me to repeat the question!" After a long pause in awkward silence, he let out a shameful sigh, the quiet room echoing in their shared stiffness. "Let's just… forget I even asked that."

"Agreed."

After a moment passed, an idea entered Gaara's mind – there was something he had to investigate, and at last - it was his chance to leave the awkward conversation. Standing up, he started for the door, pausing as he slid its wooden frame open to the corridor.

"Kankuro, I'm… going out for a while."

* * *

Focusing intensely on her subject, Sakura's green eyes narrowed at the constrained shard of crystal within the testing chambers. Carefully, she pressed the button upon the machine's controls, watching the brief bursts of electricity flicker upon its gleam. Within the grey-walled confines of the laboratory, she worked tireless on unlocking its secrets.

"Just a few more trials, and…!"

Alerting her slightly, the sound of the closing door caught her attention. Upon turning to see who entered, her eyes widened in slight shock from the unexpected arrival of the guest. Entering the room filled with medical tools and computers was the crimson-haired Kazekage, stepping towards the testing chambers where she sat.

"Huh?" She stammered, surprised. "Gaara-sama-!"

"Sorry to interrupt," He spoke, calmly. "I understand this is a critical time."

"N-Not at all! What brings you here?"

Pausing before the testing apparatus, his ringed-eyes narrowed at her, sternly. "I came to inspect that material myself," He began. "I was told about the attack in detail, so I would like to confirm my own suspicions about it."

After a brief nod, Sakura entered the code onto the keyboard, the mineral slowly releasing from the glass testing chamber. Taking the odd glowing mineral into his palm, he examined its glossy grey surface, its silvery gleam echoing in the fluorescent light. While he focused, he suddenly felt a great change - his magnet-release activating in his palm, slightly trembling the mineral shard he held in his hand. Shocked by the response, his seafoam eyes widened.

"What is it?"

"Sakura!"

Alerting the two of them, as they turned towards the doorway, a familiar face burst through as if in a delayed rush – Naruto. Close behind him, but walking in a calm and steady manner was Tsunade, the previous Fifth Hokage, her brown eyes stern as she entered the lab.

"Sorry about the wait, I had some last-minute wedding-things to take care of!" Naruto chuckled lightly, pausing before them with his hands placed in his pockets. Noticing his old friend within the room, he gave a beaming smile. "Oh! Gaara!"

"Naruto," Gaara spoke, slightly surprised to see him so unexpected.

"You're just in time," Sakura sighed, a smile on her lips. Startled to see her previous mentor, she shuddered awkwardly for a moment. "Tsu-Tsunade-sama?!"

"Let's take a look at that substance…" Tsunade said, stepping towards the tray where the mineral sat in ominous isolation. Upon seeing the varying graphs upon the screen, she noticed the red strings of plots burnt on the monitors. "Strange… Have these levels been this erratic during the testing?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Sakura nodded, her voice stern. "Over the last few weeks, the levels have been off the charts, but staying the same all throughout."

Holding the mineral between her painted fingers, Tsunade narrowed her eyes at it, suspicious of its origins. Placing her palm under her chin, she gave a low sigh. "This appears to be different than any other chakra weapon I've encountered… It seems to be made of ginkō ore."

"Ginkō?"

"Yes," She nodded, turning to her past student. "It's a rare form of silver that's found in the far west from here. I've seen it only once during my travels."

"Where?"

Catching her attention, Tsunade turned to the stoic-faced Kazekage, noticing his expression of slate-like stone – his eyes conveying his concern and seriousness all at once. "Kazekage-sama, I didn't notice your arrival." She remarked. "But in the Land of Claws, many years ago."

Shocking him slightly, Gaara jolted from the name – his eyes going wide. "The Land of Claws?"

"There's apparently a large reserve of that ore in their lands, but no one has been able to find it. I wonder…"

"Naruto?" Sakura spoke, turning towards his troubled expression. "Something wrong?"

Stepping forward towards Tsunade, Naruto sat himself upon the floor, taking his form to focus his energy. "Let me take a look at that in Sage Mode," He started, his blue eyes narrowed slightly. "Something feels off about it. I'm going to take a closer look!"

Calmly, he closed his eyes, allowing the energy around him to enter his senses. As he breathed in, he could feel the nature energy envelop through him – taking hold within his core. In silent meditation while his eyelids turned orange and toad-like, he suddenly felt a loud and gnawing presence shoot through his senses. Burning through his mind, his eyes widened towards the substance, the presence of the mineral strong and overwhelming.

"What the…!? It's… It's full of nature energy!"

"Nature energy?" Sakura stammered, shocked. "That mineral?"

"I can sense it with my Sage Mode," Naruto nodded, standing up, his Sage Mode retreating. "It's definitely nature energy, no question about it."

"If so," Tsunade started, her heels clicking upon the tiled floor. "We have a fair bit of research left on our hands." Pausing before the doorframe, she glanced back at them. "I have some restricted research logs I gathered over the years. They may have some information that could be of use."

As the door shut behind her, Gaara stood in silence as his gaze wandered to the floor, his eyes narrowed in his thoughts. The Land of Claws – the mineral was from the Land of Claws, the barbarians – the land that once hunted wolves. Remembering what Nomasaki told him only nights before as they lay in bed together, he thought of her kekkei genkai and the nature energy that powered it. That was her weakness, and Tenbu knew exactly why – because she was a wolf.

* * *

As the afternoon bled into the evening, the village streets became calmer while the skies became painted with an orange tint. Silently, the young Kazekage entered a bookstore at the side of the village, lurking in a towering section towards the back of the store - away from any wide-eyed customers who were shocked to see a foreign ruler in their midst. Rifling through the shelves, his fingers grazed over the binding of the stack of books labeled under geology – scanning for an appropriate find to wrack his brain. Searching for a book on rare ores and minerals would be much easier if he was not so paranoid, he thought.

"Gaara! Long time, no see!"

Turning towards the familiar voice, he softly smiled. "Lee," He spoke, watching the young man clothed in green pause beside him. "How've you been?"

"Terrific!" Lee beamed. "I've been training non-stop and-," As he walked closer towards him, he glanced at the books the Kazekage had set aside on the counter. "What books are those?"

Witnessing his confused and shocked reaction, Gaara averted his glance, fluster building inside the core of his chest. He forgot his personal stack was in plain view – his mistake. Remembering the advice Temari gave him about the matter, he thought it would be useful to do some additional readings.

" _Ugh… Gaara, you're so clueless about anything to do with relationships and feelings, so why don't you just read about it?"_

Although she gave him lessons in etiquette, he was still quite naïve on the concept, rambling on about cacti and the different species within the gardens of Suna. Although it worked, he still worried about his gnawing fear of intimacy, hoping the books would provide some guidance and comfort. At the back of his mind, he thought of the potential jabs Kankuro would make towards him if he was caught with the book he was reading.

" _You're reading books on relationships?! What kind of man… no, Kazekage are you?!_ "

Although his thought was an exaggeration, he still felt it was a plausible scenario.

"Lee, those are just -,"

"' _How to Build Relationships_ ', _'Emotions 101'_ , _'Healthy Relationships_ '… ' _Romantic_ … _Intimacy_ '?!"

"…They're for a friend."

* * *

Stopped by a park bench under the shadows of the trees, he sat across from the plaza, reading anything he could grasp. As he skimmed through the pages, he scratched his red hair of crimson, his expression confused and dismayed by the contents of the chapter he was reading. With a subtle sigh, he turned the page, feeling mildly hopeless.

"Are they for a friend?"

Surprised from the voice, he propped up his gaze from the book, noticing Lee standing before him with a smile. "Lee!" He stammered. Looking down at his lap, he adverted his glance, ashamed. "Sorry. I'm… just embarrassed." Sadly, he closed the book with a sigh, hanging his head low as he sat on the bench. "I can't even understand the _'Icha Icha_ ' series… To be caught reading these books… I would be laughed at."

"Do not worry!" Lee chimed in. "Our friend Sai still reads those books, and he has a girlfriend! Say… Do you have a girlfriend, Gaara?"

Surprising him greatly, the question caught him off guard. "Uh," He fumbled, averting his gaze. "Well…" Winning over his nervousness, he looked up to him, a soft smile on his lips as he nodded. "Yes."

Smiling widely, Lee beamed. "Amazing!" He cheered, posing in his exercise stances. "I wonder who she is… She must be strong if she is with you, and pretty! A formidable partner for my formidable friend!" Pausing his posing, he pondered to himself for a moment. "I have to be honest, I never imagined you being with someone, Gaara." Chuckling passing his lips, he smiled. "She must be truly amazing!"

Taking in his friend's words, Gaara smiled to himself as the thought of her crossed his mind. "Yes," He nodded, looking up to him. "She is."

"Is that why you're reading these?" Lee asked, skimming through the pages of one of the books at his side. "To express yourself?"

"Yeah," Gaara nodded. "I have to admit, it's… more difficult than I thought."

"You can do it!" Lee beamed. "As Gai-sensei says, ' _Any goal is possible, no matter how challenging or impossible'_!"

Warmly, Gaara closed his eyes halfway and smiled from his words. "Thanks, Lee."

"Hey, Lee!"

Turning their attention towards the village street, Tenten was standing with her hands placed on her hips, an expression of tired dismay painted on her face. "We have to get ready for the reception tomorrow!" She shouted. "We still haven't wrapped Naruto and

Hinata's presents yet!"

Realizing how late he was, Lee perked up and started towards her. "My bad!" He laughed. "I got carried away with the time!" With a smile and a thumbs up, he paused and turned around to his friend. "See you later, Gaara!"

Watching Lee run off and depart from sight, Gaara thought to himself alone on the cobble bench, wondering if he really could express his emotions carefully to her. The more he thought of it, the more the burgeoning reminder of the ginkō ore rang through his mind. There was something unsettling about the mineral he sensed as he could feel it with his magnet-release, and he was determined to figure out what it was – whatever it may be, and no matter the cost.

* * *

Deep within the wastelands of the country where Ishigakure was located, the tracking unit deployed from Suna approached the location in a fortnight, approaching the outskirts of the blistering lands at nightfall - where they suspected Tenbu was hiding. As the squad of five masked tracker-nin and their captain approached the cave entrance, they quickly noticed there was no one around – not a single guard or scout to keep watch. However, a large looming presence shadowed behind them as if from nowhere, snuffing them all out within an instant before they had a mere chance to react. No one escaped...


	53. The Night of the Wedding

**Chapter 53  
** **The Night of the Wedding**

* * *

On the warming winds, the lush tree leaves swayed above against the blue sky as the numerous guests made their way into the ceremony grounds. Surrounding the area were cherry blossom trees – fully in bloom with the season, delicately drifting onto the green grass at their feet. It was indeed a beautiful day for a wedding. Making their way through the entrance, the brothers from Suna joined in on the ceremony, dressed in fine clothes that were both formal and indicating their status as important guests. Stepping off to the side, they paused, quietly scanning around themselves.

"Hey," Kankuro uttered. "Where did Temari go? She was with us just now!"

Unsure, Gaara shook his head after briefly following his brother's glances. "Beats me," He said, quietly. "I don't think she went too far."

"Hey, Kazekage entourage!"

From the sound of the booming voice, they turned. Ahead of them on the way to their seats was the Fourth Raikage and Killer B, both of them with their wedding gifts for the happy couple in tow.

"We're the Lightning entourage..." Killer B rapped, excitedly. "...Here to give our wedding blessings!"

As Kankuro entered conversation with them, Gaara silently stepped aside towards the blossoming trees, seeking brief refuge and escape. Stopping in his steps before the forest, he became lost in his thoughts. With a saddened tint to his eyes, he looked down towards the grass, overhearing the three shinobi bolstering in their shared happiness for Naruto and his Hyūga bride. As the conversation was carried off by the gentle winds, he was left alone with his bothersome thoughts - duty, the village, and Tenbu. The last few months had surely been eventful in such a short amount of time, and he knew that there was no telling of what could occur in the immediate future. The mysterious enemies and their strange weapons troubled him – and so did the knowledge of the Land of Claws. A threat was definitely waiting beyond the horizon, hiding amongst the shadows of deceit, and as Kazekage he certainly had his suspicions. Taking a silent breath to himself, he turned from the forest's edge, swallowing his thoughts as he decided to focus on the joy that was before him - his friend's wedding. Before he could join his comrades in the celebrations, he sensed a watchful presence approach him from the darkened cover of the forest. Turning towards the presence, he warmly smiled.

"You made it!" He spoke, watching the shadow step closer to where he stood.

As the tree leaves rustled from silent movement, a wolfish shape was seen within the black shadows of afternoon, its violet eyes visible from the scattered rays of the sun that peaked through the canopy of leaves above. Beyond the lay of the thicket, the silhouette of the beast slowly disappeared, its form changing into that of a woman - Nomasaki. Comforting him, she did not seem pained from her transformation – had she recovered? From underneath the blossoming pink of the cherry blossoms, she timidly approached the young Kazekage before her as a soft smile formed on her lips. Once she was out of the shadows and into the light, he saw the gleam of her dress - a blue kimono with gold and red trimming along its sleeves, the fabric hugging her feminine figure snuggly yet subtly at the same time, its silky fabric glistening in the sun's rays. She was dressed the most elegantly he ever seen, aweing him. Pausing in her steps once she stood before him, he noticed a twig caught within the strands of her golden hair, poking out from behind her ear. Smiling widely at his reaction, her cheeks blushed lightly.

"I couldn't miss this! It's the wedding of a very good friend of ours." She chuckled. "Since I'm still on my mission, I asked Moro-sama if it would be alright. Luckily, the tracking unit were able to pull a few strings for me."

Surprising her for a moment, a small stream of sand gently moved towards her head from his hidden gourd at his side. Gingerly, the sands grasped the twig, removing it from her head of gold hair. Fixing her straying strands, she tossed her long golden hair over her shoulder. Becoming flustered, she timidly averted her glance.

"Well… My mission is to guard you and your siblings, and you're all attending the wedding, so… Technically, I'm still on my mission." Meeting his glance, she gave a warm smile. "I know how much this wedding means to you, so I wanted to surprise you."

"That's very kind of you," He nodded, smiling back. "I'm glad you're here."

As he looked down at her before him, he noticed the careful and precise detail to her dress. The blue appeared as though there were tiny flicks of white imprinted onto the fabric, while the red and gold that lined her sleeves were vibrant and filled with essence. Upon her waist, her white obi was tied elegantly in even knots, defining the subtle shape of her smooth hips. With her golden hair and soft lilac eyes, to him she was perfect. The more he looked at her, the more flustered he could feel himself become. Carefully, he thought over his words, looking at the tender young woman standing before him.

"You look…-," He said, his words trailing timidly. "…beautiful."

"T-Thank you," She stammered with a nod, her cheeks reddening. Averting her glance towards her kimono, she touched the fabric over her chest with her fingertips, lightly adjusting its cover. "I made it… I was working on it for a while, actually."

"Really? You made it yourself?"

"Yes," She nodded, exchanging a timid smile. "I make all of my clothes. My mom taught me how to sew when I was a little girl, so it's been a long hobby of mine."

Glancing at him from head to toe, she smiled. Never had she seen him dressed so formal before. It amused her, in a way. Dressed in a long coat that reached his ankles, she admired the stitching of the grey fabric and its burgundy lining – the tailoring was immaculate, even on the matching pants. Even more amusing to her was his messy red hair, appearing slightly tidy for a change and combed with a light hint of gel. He could definitely pull off a suit, she thought. Considered to be handsome by many willing suitors back in Suna, she knew in her heart that no one could even compare – she was smitten.

"You're quite ravishing, yourself," She snickered. "It suits you."

"Was that a pun?" He mused, raising a nonexistent brow.

"Possibly. It played out quite well, didn't it?" After a brief chuckle to herself, she noticed one of his buttons upon his chest was undone. Softly, she grasped it, startling him slightly. Gingerly, she snapped the button into its place, adjusting the fabric upon his collar in a doting nature. "There,"

"Thank you," He nodded, humbled by her gesture. "We should join the others in the ceremony -,"

"Ay! Kazekage-sama! Come over and chat! This sake is where it's at! YEAH!"

Standing across the tranquil grassy meadow was the Fourth Raikage and Kankuro, witnessing Killer B rapping with silent awkward grimaces. Taken aback from the booming rhymes, Nomasaki looked on at the dancing man confused. Although she could feel the eight-tails immense chakra in the air around them, the person who contained it certainly did not match the tailed-beast in terms of demeanor – puzzling her in an almost complexing way, making her wonder if her sensory abilities were tricking her. Glancing towards them, Gaara gestured in their direction, a subtle friendly smile on his lips.

"Let's go meet with the Kage, they're waiting for us."

"T-The Kage?" She stammered, nervously. "Is that allowed? I mean… I'm only a jonin from the tracking unit!"

"It's a wedding," He turned to her, smiling softly. "It's the one time they can act like regular people. There's no reason to be scared, and -," As she looked up at his warm expression, she knew what his eyes conveyed. Deep in his turquoise eyes, she felt his warmth and admiration, and an enveloping sense of comfort. Meeting her lilac eyes, he gave a gentle smile. "I want them to meet you."

Surprised from his words, her eyes widened as she could feel her cheeks redden greatly. It was only a few weeks before where they had the ill-fated meeting with the council regarding their relationship, and now – the foreign leaders, all highly-skilled shinobi rulers – would know of the wolf-blooded woman from the north who the Kazekage claimed as his lover. She felt her heart pound in her chest, anxiety rising as she could feel their strength close by – their skill, their wisdom, their prestige. She wondered if they carried prejudice as Suna once had, remembering the tales of the Land of Water and the bloodline genocides – although the new Mizukage appeared to have two kekkei genkai, which may be assuring in their case. Glancing towards the four leaders in the distance towards Kankuro and Killer B, she attempted to quell her rising nervousness – afraid her wolfishness might slip out once again.

"Hey, Gaara!" Kankuro waved. "Over here!" Squinting from the bright springtime sun, he seen the shape of a woman clothed in blue standing with his younger brother in the distance, her gold hair jolting his memory. "Huh? Nomasaki? Ah, you made it after all! Nice to see you!"

Realizing his position, he flinched, his expression turning into a grimace. Glancing behind him, the barrels of sake were in plain sight, and before him in the distance stood the one person who had the worst susceptibility to alcohol in all its forms. Thanks to his siblings and their stories, he knew Nomasaki's embarrassing weakness. Awkwardly, trying not to draw attention to himself, he leaned in towards Killer B, interrupting his rapping abruptly.

"Quick…! Hide the alcohol…! Now…!"

"Gotta hide the sake! From Nomasaki! YEAH!"

Bad rapping aside, Killer B used one of his emerging tentacles to hide the barrel of alcohol under the tablecloth, 'discretely' – with a loud crash of the table as it was placed, alerting everyone standing nearby of the sudden noise. Dismayed, Kankuro averted his glance, shielding his embarrassed expression with his palm as he sighed.

Gently, putting his hidden nervousness of affections aside, Gaara touched her hand, holding it softly in his. Jolting her senses, Nomasaki's face reddened greatly, looking up to him with widened violet eyes. For the first time without the assistance of his sand, he touched her hand without fear. As she clasped her fingers with his, she felt his warmth, comfort, and protection - conveying what he felt within a simple gesture.

"Come on," He guided, gently smiling at her. "We should introduce ourselves." Startled, she gasped as he led the way, her feet stumbling upon his calmly paced strides towards the four leaders in the distance.

* * *

From across the reception area, Kiba sensed the wolf nearby. Turning from his spot with Shino, his past sensei Kurenai and her child Mirai, he seen her – his expression instantly turning flushed and embarrassed.

"Ah -!" He gasped. "H-Her!"

Shocked, his eyes widened greatly from the sight. Beside the Fifth Kazekage and holding his hand, she stood with the other Kage and their respective attendants, all of them engaged in cheerful conversation about the wedding – her expression timid and content as she exchanged caring glances with Gaara during their discussions.

"T-That woman…!" He pointed, turning to Shino at his side. "That's the wolf! She's… she's with the Kazekage?! What the hell?!"

Catching his attention, Shino glanced at his quivering friend. "Is that the girl you struck out on, Kiba?" He asked, as if a jab. "It doesn't appear she's single, after all."

"Hey! S-Shut up, Shino…!" Kiba shot back, visibly embarrassed and uncomfortable. "I-I'm into someone else now, remember?"

Putting his hands in his pockets, Shino walked off with Kurenai and her toddler. "Whatever you say."

"Gah!" Kiba turned, beginning to sweat. "C-Come on, don't go spreading it around!"

Thinking to himself, he remembered that horrifying experience from his first attempt at the Chunin Exams many years ago - where he and his team witnessed a bloodthirsty Gaara kill three Amegakure ninja in cold blood. The vicious scent of Shukaku's chakra was still burned in his brain from the memory. Despite it being well over eight years ago, the recollection still shook him to think about. Embarrassed with himself, he gulped as a single bead of sweat dripped from his forehead – not only would he have a wolf to worry about, but the Kazekage if word ever slipped.

- _I know he's changed since then… but he still makes me nervous… I really hope this never comes back to bite me…_ -

"Arf!" Akamaru barked, as if in condolence for his mistake.

* * *

Standing amongst the crowd of excited weddinggoers, Ino looked across towards the Five Kage and their guards, jolting at the sight where she seen the Kazekage standing with his violet-eyed partner. Tall, red hair, and from Suna – her widened blue eyes cracked the code the drunken tracker-nin gave them that night weeks before. It was him. Stunned at the reveal, she glanced at them in surprise and in smug admiration, placing her hands at her hips while she watched them from afar.

"So, the rumors are true!" She beamed, a smirk on her lips. "She really did snag a Kage, after all! I knew she was hiding something from us."

"Ino -!" Sakura hushed close by. "Not so loud!"

Following her friend's gaze, she looked on towards them in absolute bewilderment. The unthinkable was evidently true after much speculation. That man from Suna who hardly socialized was no longer single, the man who was once a cold-blooded killer turned redeemed leader – and her mountain-born acquaintance was his lover. A strange sight to behold, especially to see him with a such a woman – the wolf. Still stunned by the revelation, she sighed to herself, trying to make sense of things.

"Still, I thought he was not the kind of guy to… ya know, _want_ a relationship. He's so emotionless, and she is so…-?"

"Unpredictable?" Ino chuckled. "Opposites attract sometimes. Maybe this is a rare case?"

Walking towards them, Tenten sighed, a soft smile on her lips as she stood in admiration and ease. "I kind of seen it coming, but honestly… I'm still just as bamboozled as you two."

* * *

Standing before the Kage and their bodyguards, Nomasaki timidly stood holding Gaara's hand, watching the conversation unfold as she felt comforted by his presence. Although her heart fluttered in her chest from nerves, her expression was at ease and calm, her lips curved into a welcoming smile as she noticed the Kage's glances towards her.

"Ah, the wolf-girl," Ōnoki remarked, an elderly smile on his cracked face. "I remember you."

"I'd like to introduce you all my partner," Gaara spoke. Turning to the young woman at his side, he gave her a warm smile as he held her hand. "Nomasaki."

Bowing her head slightly, she smiled towards the leaders, all traces of nervousness leaving her lilac eyes. "It's an honor to meet you all."

"Likewise," The Raikage nodded, grasping his drink. "If the Kazekage chose you, you must have a balanced head on your shoulders."

"Young woman," Mei asked, her glance curious. "Are you a shinobi?"

"Yes, Mizukage-sama." Nomasaki nodded. "I'm a jōnin."

"Ah," Mei sighed, amused by her answer. "It's good to see young women such as yourself as shinobi. It makes me all the more proud to be a Kage."

"She's the right-hand of our tracking unit," Gaara entered, smiling lightly. "She's one of our top tracker-nin and she has the sensory abilities of the Yamamori clan."

"Yamamori? Really?"

Timidly, Nomasaki gave a nod. "Yes, sir. I have the clan's kekkei genkai. I'm originally from the Land of Mountains where my mother hailed, but my father is of Suna."

Intrigued, the elderly Tsuchikage gave an acknowledged sigh. "I heard that Suna was backing away from its old ways and arranged marriages," He mused, turning to Gaara. "It's good to see you unscathed, Kazekage-sama. We stubborn old-folk can be difficult to deal with at times." After an exchanged nod and smile from the young Kazekage, the former fence-sitter approached closer to the couple. "When is the wedding?"

Flustered, the couple's expressions drew blanks, their cheeks reddening as they took in the abrupt question. Glancing towards each other, they both tried to bite their tongues to prevent an unwarranted answer from escaping their lips – embarrassed and silent in their state of fluster.

Overhearing the fumbling words of the Kazekage and his partner, Mei's shoulders slumped – remembering her failed marriage ceremony. - _Even the Kazekage is getting married…_ -

* * *

The night soon approached as the wedding ceremony came to a close. After a portion of the many guests bid their farewells and wishes to the married couple, the amber glow of the paper lanterns lit signaled the proceedings of the reception. During the loud chatter amongst the guests, Gaara had the chance to introduce Nomasaki to Rock Lee – who gave her a strong shake of the hand and gushed his happiness towards her, surprising her greatly as she attempted to process his fast chatter. Finally, Gaara had an opportunity to greet Naruto and his bride, with Nomasaki holding his hand beside him. While they conversed in the night, Hinata asked Nomasaki to join her and the other women by the gifts table. With a smiling nod, she accepted and followed her towards the group of women ahead. Cheerfully, and some of them drunkenly, the guests gushed about the ceremony and danced upon the grass. Surprisingly, Nomasaki managed to steer clear of the sake, with Temari keeping a watchful eye on her friend's terrible habit. Once they had privacy, Naruto and Gaara sat along an empty table, catching up with each other since they last crossed paths months before – and in the lab the day prior.

"Naruto," Gaara started, watching his partner mingle contently from a distance. "How did… you propose?"

Slightly surprised by his question, Naruto quickly finished his sake, turning to him with a curious glint to his drunken blue eyes. "Propose? Like marriage proposal?"

"Yeah."

Smiling to himself, Naruto leaned his elbow onto the table as he remembered that winter's day months ago. In his buzzed state, he blushed as he reminisced – remembering Hinata's tender smile as he asked her. "Well," He sighed, chuckling to himself. "The timing just felt right, and it ended up slipping out! Luckily, she said 'yes', so it worked out in the end." Sitting up, he turned to his friend at his side. "Why do you ask?" Suddenly, his memory jolted, his glossy eyes widening as he leaned closer to the silent Kazekage. "O-Oh! Are you and Nomasaki tying the knot?!"

Startled from the question, Gaara averted his glance, visibly flustered. "N-Not yet. Well, I…" His words trailed, a faint blush sneaking past his stoic expression. "I'm thinking of… when it's time to pop the question… how I would… go about asking…"

Beaming, Naruto gasped, excitedly. "Ah! Is that so? Well," Surprising Gaara for a moment, he felt Naruto place his hand on his shoulder with a chuckle. "I wish you the best of luck! You two seem happy together, so that's really all that matters. If you do ask her, I'm sure you'll have no problem."

Turning to him, Gaara gave a subtle soft smile. "Thanks, Naruto."

"Kazekage-sama!"

Suddenly, a ninja clothed in the Suna flak jacket appeared before them that night, the gleam of their forehead protector catching their attention, interrupting their conversation. Somewhat dismayed by their appearance, Gaara gave him a stern glance. "What news do you bring?" He asked. "Anything to report?"

"The tracking unit we sent to locate Tenbu's hideout," They spoke, as they sat kneeling before him. Frustration entering their eyes, they grit their teeth. "They haven't returned…! No hawk, no message, or anything! We fear for the worst..."

"We're playing right into their hands, then…" Gaara spoke, his voice low – glancing his narrowed eyes to his side. Closing his eyes briefly, he calmed himself with a silent breath. When his eyes opened, he looked upon the ninja, sternly. "We'll make our next move against them when I return to Sunagakure. Have all available ANBU stand guard along the border in case of an ambush, and station some within the village core. We can't let our guard down against them."

Obediently, the Suna ninja nodded. "Yes, sir. Understood!" Within an instant, they disappeared under the cover of night, leaving the late reception unnoticed in a cloud of smoke from their teleportation technique.

"That group is still a nuisance, huh?" Naruto asked, looking down. "Tenbu?"

"Yeah," Gaara nodded. "They're less of a concern than the Akatsuki was, but still… They're a threat to Sunagakure and my family." Turning towards the direction of the Konoha women and guests, his eyes closed halfway, saddened as he watched Nomasaki enjoy her time with her new friends in the distance from where they sat. Her cheerful smile upon her lips evoking him to despair about their new foes. "…and her, too." Turning towards the group ahead of them in the distance, Naruto followed Gaara's gaze, giving a sympathetic frown. "She's a tracker-nin. It's only a matter of time before they deploy her. She was injured by that weapon when they attacked during the exams… I don't know what I'd do if she was hurt again." Gazing down at his lap, his eyes narrowed. "Ginkō… that ore… You said it contains nature energy. Whatever it's made of, it caused her sensory skills to falter. I fear they may use that to their advantage, if they attack again."

"That's rough, I'm sorry to hear that," Naruto spoke, quietly. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Tenbu does seem worrisome, but they can be stopped. We have that ore, right? If we can figure out its weakness, we can use it against them! If we could defeat the Akatsuki, we can defeat any foe that comes our way." Breaking the solemn tone with a bright smile, he gestured the thumbs up in front of him. "Also, remember you can count on your Konoha allies for backup! You can count on us."

His sadness fading slightly, Gaara gave a small smile. "I'll keep that in mind," He nodded. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Naruto nodded, stretching as he stood up. For a moment, he gave a tired drunken sigh, smiling from ear to ear. "Now, I'm going to find my wife! We leave for our honeymoon in the morning."

"Best wishes to you." Gaara said, a light smile on his lips.

Nodding in return, Naruto gave a hearty-smile, and walked off to join his bride in the distance. As Gaara was left alone to collect his thoughts, he had much to think about - Tenbu, a proposal, everything was happening so fast and at an unpredictable pace. The future was troubling to him.

"Gaara, are you alright?"

Surprised by the soft voice, he looked up to meet her warm lilac eyes. Standing before him, Nomasaki gave him a curious glance tinted with worry. Assuring her, he gave a light smile. "It's nothing," He nodded. "Are you…-?"

Catching his attention, she held out her hand to him, her expression gentle and blushing lightly. "Did you… want to join me?"

Smiling to himself, he stood up from his seat, taking her hand. "Always."

Following her to the reception area, he was offered at least some temporary form of peace within his mind. While he stood with his Konoha friends one last time before departing for the night, he pushed his troubled thoughts aside, focusing on enjoying the evening of the celebrations.

Late that night, he contemplated his next move…


	54. Usurper

**Chapter 54  
** **Usurper**

* * *

Silence.

Throughout the cervices and corridors of the armed desert castle, a shadowy figure concealed by darkness bounded down the halls, snuffing out the fires of the lit torches – one by one as they passed. Turning a blind eye to the disappearing lights, any unsuspecting guard ambitious to investigate was promptly killed, crimson spraying against the crumbling walls of the prison as they collapsed with a thud to the cracked floor. One after another in blood-spurting wails, the Suna ninja fell with throats slit to the bone, kunai to the heart, or their bodies falling against the worn cobble from beheading – each one murdered as their torches lost their flames. Standing before the cell while covered in the blood of their comrades, a lone guard glanced down at the prisoner before them, their eerie mask curved in an expression of pure slate. Turning, the man within the cell met their narrowed eyes through the slits of their bloodied porcelain shroud, his dark eyes evoking suspicion from the noises further down the corridor.

"Is it done, then?" Kenzō spat through his teeth, watching the guard sheath his blade. "Have you killed the rats?"

"Most of them," They answered. "Some are still clinging to life, but they should be snuffed out soon enough."

"Good," Kenzō nodded, his bearded face etched with menace. "I expect you have everything in put in place?"

"Yes, sir. Now is the time."

Within an instant, the paper bomb placed over the worn sealing tags ignited, erupting into a burst of debris and flames. Frailly, Kenzō stood upon his decrepit feet, dragging himself out from his imprisonment at long last. Making their way through the winding corridors of the castle, they passed by the numerous bodies of the slain ninja, blood pooling upon the floor where they walked. As they reached the outside of the prison, they paused once they reached the barrier of the shattered fencing. Kneeling into the sands, the disgraced council member slammed his palm onto the desert beneath him.

"Turn to ash!"

A blue flash was summoned – with a foul noise soon following. Suddenly, the confines of the desert castle exploded into a burst of blue flame as the night cried out, swallowing everything in its path. Leaving the burning prison behind, the two traitors disappeared into the harsh winds of the desert lands. No trace of their presence was remaining, vanishing within the flames that coated the collapsing structure.

* * *

At dawn, he stood upon the rooftop of the Kazekage's mansion with a glance mired in insomnia.

Once again, he failed to become enveloped within a calming night's sleep. Although he has been fortunate to sleep some nights, since the advent of Tenbu it became a constant struggle. Not even his late night visits to Nomasaki's home could grace him with sleep. Feeling her rest her head upon his chest as she slept soundly in her bed gave him some comfort, but it always ended in him finding ways to stay awake before he left with his sands through the morning winds. Insomnia was a difficult habit for him to break, his stress only proving it worse. Finding solace in the rising sun's rays, Gaara's narrowed glance from his tired eyes eased.

"Kazekage-sama!"

Glancing behind him, a Suna shinobi suddenly appeared with a scroll in hand, its worn and tattered binding visible in the quaint morning winds. Their expression was painted in urgency and confusion, raising his tired curiosity. "This was delivered to the aviary last night, specifically addressed to you." The Suna ninja spoke. "However, we don't know where the scroll is from. There appears to be no name attached."

"Is that so?" Gaara replied, raising a nonexistent brown. "What type of hawk was it?"

"A black hawk, sir. Not one of ours, but like the ones used elsewhere in the Land of Wind."

Pondering to himself, Gaara narrowed his eyes in thought, holding his fingers to his chin. "Strange…" He glanced back to the shinobi. "And you swear no one knows who sent this?"

"Yes, sir." They nodded, sternly. "Unfortunately, we have no leads."

Taking the scroll in his hands, his ringed-eyes scanned the rolled parchment thoroughly, surprised that such a prioritized message was not written in code. It must have been written in a hurry, he thought – its tattered edges confirming it. The words written within seemed rough, rushed and unpolished. Silently, he read the confines to himself.

" _Kazekage-sama – they're coming from the ashes. Meet me at the oasis by nightfall. I will tell you everything I can_."

From the ashes – Tenbu. Surprised by the message, he narrowed his eyes in suspicion, unknown of the origins of the scroll and its contents. Was it a trap, or was it a plea from someone catching wind of the growing menace the organization evoked? He could not tell by pure words alone, but the hasty nature of its written words provoked his curiosity.

"This is certainly strange…"

"What do you make of it, sir?"

"It could be ploy by the enemy," Gaara answered, turning towards the Suna ninja as he placed the scroll into his satchel. "However, if this message is what I think it is, it may be worth the risk."

"Do you wish me to summon the ANBU, sir?"

"There will be no need of that, I will be going there myself."

"K-Kazekage-sama -!" The Suna ninja stammered, his eyes shocked. "Are you certain?"

"Yes," Gaara nodded, his eyes stern. "Don't notify the council of this. I will be sure to relay any intelligence to them when I return."

"Understood!"

Disappearing within a single hand-sign, the Suna ninja vanished within the growing winds, leaving the Kazekage alone once more to contemplate his thoughts before the morning sun. He was indeed facing a difficult decision, but he knew what he must do. To reach the oasis, he must depart immediately. Located at the southern portion of the Land of Wind's desert, the fabled oasis was a place of tranquil rest for travellers and a place of luxury for the wealthy. It was nearly half a day's journey away from Sunagakure, and time was certainly of the essence.

"May I ask what the commotion was all about?"

Alerted by the soothing voice on the winds, he turned to his side. With a light smile on her soft features, Nomasaki stepped beside him on the rooftop, her golden hair swaying with the winds while the violet in her eyes gleamed. Only apart for a mere few hours, her presence was always a welcome one. Averting his gaze towards the sun, he cleansed his expression with his stoic nature.

"It's Tenbu," He said. "We received a potential tip on the organization. A black hawk delivered an anonymous scroll this morning, saying to meet them at the oasis."

"Don't tell me you're actually thinking of going through with this," She stammered, her expression becoming concerned. "Gaara -,"

"I have to," He interrupted, turning towards her. "Tenbu is directly threatening the village, my clan, and you. If we can find out where they're hiding, or what they're planning, we can defeat them before they ambush Suna." Her worried gaze was not at all relieved by his words, growing more concerned – if anything. Turning back towards the rising sun, his ringed-eyes narrowed. "If they attack, thousands of civilian lives will be put at risk. I won't allow them to threaten my home. I'm the Kazekage, it's my duty."

"At least… let me come with you," She pressed, her voice quiet as her lilac eyes pleaded with him. "Let me protect you… Gaara, please."

"No. I want you to stay here."

"What?! Are you serious?" She barked, her worry transforming into frustration. "What if you fall into an ambush? What if you're-!?"

Surprising her, he turned to meet her expression. Before she had any time to react, she felt his arms wrap around her, holding her close to him upon the rooftop as the winds gently blew past. Her rising anger melting away, she calmed, comforted by his warmth and affection. In his strong arms, she felt assured – at least, for the time being. Releasing her from his careful hold, he gave a soft smile at her stunned expression.

"I'll be fine. You can trust me."

Biting her tongue, her fluttering heart got the best of her – giving in to his words. She nodded, lightly smiling up at him. "Okay," Poking the burgundy fabric of his shirt with her finger strongly, she placed her other hand at her hips, a slight smirk painted on her playful expression. She seemed pleasant yet intimidating at the same time, her wolfishness was seen clearly within her lilac eyes. "You better come back tonight or so help me… I'll go searching for you myself!"

With an assured sigh, he closed his eyes as he exhaled. Opening his eyes, he stepped towards her, placing a palm upon her flushed cheek as he softly kissed her forehead. Looking into her gleaming lilac eyes, he nodded with a smile – admiring her kindness.

"Thank you, Nomasaki."

Holding her hand over his, she closed her eyes in comfort, touched by his gesture. Startling her slightly, he changed into his sands, wisped away by the rising winds of the desert. Watching the sand-riddled winds disappear over the village as the breeze whipped against her blue kimono, her expression once again turned concerned – worried for his safety and troubled by the fact she did not know it was a Sand Clone.

Her senses had not repaired as well as she thought.

* * *

Pondering her troubling thoughts as she walked down the long corridor of the Kazekage's mansion, she could sense a familiar air approach from behind.

Pausing in her steps, she turned to meet the friendly expression of Kankuro – his face painted in his signature purple ink while dressed in his black puppeteer clothes. He must have been returning from a mission, she thought.

"Ah, Nomasaki," He said, pausing before her. "Looking for Gaara?"

Her eyes mired in building unease, she averted her glance from his, catching his curiosity. "Actually," She spoke, quietly. "I…-,"

"Kankuro-sama!"

Gathering their attention, they saw a Suna shinobi approach them, their expression stern and slate-like. "What is it?" Kankuro asked, his glance narrowing slightly.

"Kazekage-sama is nowhere to be found," They answered. "Do you know his whereabouts?"

"He should be in his office," Kankuro replied. "I'll see to it."

After a shared nod, the Suna ninja went along on his day, prompting Kankuro to investigate for himself – with Nomasaki accompanying him down the confines of the hallway. Opening the door, he scoffed to himself. Not a single light was on in the Kazekage's office, with his desk and chair visibly vacant and unattended. Just as her worries confirmed, Gaara did indeed leave the village.

"What do you know… the bastard snuck off." Kankuro chuckled to himself, under the guise of a smirk as they entered the room. "I would, too, if I had his job." Pausing by his desk, he noticed the towering stack of paperwork that quivered with each breath of movement, waiting for the right moment to topple to the floor. "Just look at this paperwork! It would take days to sort through it all." Turning to her, he gave a friendly glance. "Say, why don't we do him a favor?"

Timidly, she felt her hands flinch at her sides. It has been ages since she last signed and notarized one of the Kazekage's documents. She wondered if she forgot it all, a distant memory to her in her past as his assistant. Worriedly, her thoughts ran rapid with fears of making a mistake – her previous anxieties about her old job resurfacing.

"Are you sure this is allowed?"

"It's not going to do itself," He sighed. "Come on,"

Watching him rifle through the immense amounts of pages, she swallowed her nervousness, putting it aside as she joined him. "I… guess you're right."

Sitting upon the carpeted floor, the two sorted and filled out the forms as best as they could, placing them in separate piles while pens and papers littered the office floor. Surprising her slightly, there was a part of her that missed the prospect of office work – although she did enjoy tracking more. Although she seldom spent time with Kankuro at all due to not being very close with him in the first place, she did appreciate his growing acquaintanceship towards her.

"I don't think I've ever told you this, but…-," Kankuro began, trying to gather the right words. "I'm glad that you're with my brother." Startling her from his words, her pen trailed across the paper, smudging her words in fluster. "Just because he's the Kazekage, doesn't mean he can take care of himself. You understand him, and that's important."

Humbled, she nodded to herself, looking down at her lap as a faint blush spread across her cheeks. "T-Thanks," She spoke, timidly. "He can be stubborn at times, and grumpy," Looking towards him, she gave a soft smile. "But… he's very kind, he always was."

"I have to say," He sighed, a smirk on his lips. "Since you've been together, he hasn't been nearly as grumpy as he used to be." Pausing his pen strokes upon the paper, he narrowed his eyes slightly. "…Any luck on your sensory abilities?"

Catching her off-guard, she glanced at her paperwork in a solemn nature as her smile faded. "Yes… and no," She answered, quietly. "It's… complicated."

"I heard about that meeting with the elders. I would've paid to see that! Serves them right… the bastards."

"Yeah," She chuckled lightly, her soft expression timidly returning – remembering the startled and frightened glances from the council members who spoke ill of her clan and heritage. "They're… bastards."

"You don't… swear much, do you?"

"N-No," She said, glancing up at him with a light smile. "But… thank you. It's funny to look back on, now that I think about it."

"Alright," He sighed, standing up with his piles of forms in hand. "At least we got some of it done. What drawer does he use to store them?"

Stepping towards the desk, she placed her forms upon its surface, making sure not to budge any of Gaara's cacti or other office supplies. "Oh, um… maybe this one?" She asked, examining the three drawers on the desk's side.

Slowly, she reached for the middle drawer, her curiosity getting the better of her. Knowing better than to go snooping around, she felt a slightly urge to investigate things. It was not jealously or fear that propelled her, but her tracker-side pushing her to inspect. With a slight creak, she pulled the drawer open. In plain sight, a stack of books was stacked messily in the drawer, their covers plain and devoid of visual draw. Taking some of the books in hand, she scanned their faces with a narrowed glance.

"What's this…?"

Suddenly, her face turned blank, her cheeks reddening greatly. In her hands, she held a book titled 'Romantic Intimacy', the words clear as day written upon its cover. The others under it were also named similarly, all alluding to romantic intentions and the human body. Unbeknownst to her, Gaara was conducting his own sort of 'research'. Tossing the books back inside the drawer, she closed it – pretending she never even saw them. Starting for the door, she bowed her head to Kankuro as she made a break for it.

"I-I have to go," She apologized, her timid voice quivering. "I'll see you later."

Confused by her sudden departure and flustered expression, Kankuro rose a brow towards her as she left. Walking towards the desk, he reached for the same drawer and opened it. Holding the book in his hand, he felt himself flinch as he read its cover. Instantly, he knew why she was so embarrassed.

"' _Romantic Intimacy_ '…?" He stammered, shocked. "What the…?!"

* * *

Just as he arrived, the present moon slowly made its appearance in the sandstorm riddled lands.

Stepping over the dunes as his cloak whipped in the dying winds, he could make out the shape of the glistening pond and the palm trees that surrounded it, the only bastion of life so far from his home. Never having visited the oasis for himself, he took everything in first-hand. Although it was located far from the village and the distant sea, the oasis was remarkably beautiful with its crescent shaped pool and the blooming flowers with pedals of rose and gold. Along the twists of the pond were resting travellers allowing their horses and cattle a drink while some even went as far as to camp at its banks with stoked fires and tents. Hearing only from rumors himself, it was said that the river that flowed into its mouth could be followed to the ocean – but he was not so certain if it were true. Never in his life had he even seen the ocean, and such a thing was unheard of in his memories.

Approaching the heart of the oasis, he began to notice the sculpted details of the columns that marked the entrance to the extravagant temple-turned resort, its adorned red markings swirling against the pillars in a gleaming air as he walked past. Within the hidden resort, there were small factions of people, young and old, keeping to themselves amongst the tables and bars as the faint neon glow of the signs above lit the quiet foyer. Citizens, travellers, merchants, mercenaries – all gathered at the oasis for refuge from the sands and for a place to rest. Hoping not to draw any attention to himself, Gaara glanced at their backs as he made his way to the far end of the room, seating himself at the farthest stall he could find. Sitting to his far left was a silent individual, cloaked in a black shroud with their hand firmly on the cup of their cold beverage. Keeping to himself as the bar worker tended to their vast collection of bottles beyond the counter, he began to wonder if he placed himself into unnecessary danger after all.

Had he made a rash decision?

"You must be the Kazekage," The person spoke, their voice smooth and kind – a woman. "I've heard about you, Gaara-sama."

Startling him, he glanced towards them. "Are you the messenger?"

"That depends." She answered, her tone serious. "Are you being followed?"

"No," He said, his eyes narrowed at their hooded figure. "And you?"

Conveying their answer with the gesture of their nod, the cloaked woman stood from her seat, starting for the exit. "This way," She replied, calmly. "This setting is far too public for my liking."

* * *

Pausing along the towering clay walls of the temple, they became face to face within the confines of the alleyway – making sure no one could find them or listen to their conversation. Eyeing the area carefully, Gaara cautiously trusted in his messenger's judgement, surrendering all suspicions for the times being. The quiet of the desert surrounding the oasis made him uneasy.

"I appreciate you coming here on such short notice," She spoke, softly – her voice reminding him of Nomasaki in a strange way. In the shadows of her hooded figure, he could not make out her face nor her expression, but she could tell by the shards of moonlight that she wore a well-fashioned kimono – a symbol of wealth. "I'm sorry for the nature of things."

"Before we start," He began, his eyes narrowed towards her concealed face. "Who are you? How do I know you're not a spy for Tenbu who lured me here?"

"If I was from Tenbu, I would've attacked you by now." She chuckled lightly. "You can trust me, Kazekage-sama. I left everything behind to come here."

Her words striking his curiosity, he watched with widened eyes as she removed her hood. Standing before him in the darkened alley was a black-haired woman with soft facial features and shining blue eyes, her expression assuring and trusting. Taken aback for a moment of her beauty, he calmed himself, realizing his embarrassment.

"My name is Hakuto. I'm the heiress of the noble Hoki Family of the Land of Wind, or… at least, I was… until I fled."

"Hakuto." He repeated, surprised by the name. "Hoki Family, you said?"

Nodding, she gave a friendly smile as a quiet chuckle passed her lips at his stunned expression. "We were actually nearly engaged once, Gaara-sama. Do you remember?"

Jolting him for a moment, his turquoise eyes widened. "So, it was you -!" He stammered. "The council's arranged marriage -!" Upon seeing her nod in response, he washed himself clean of his distraction. His glance turning serious as he remembered his task at hand, he narrowed his ringed eyes in suspicion. "How did you find out about the organization Tenbu? What do you know of them?"

"My father hired them to kill you. That's what I know."

Shocked, Gaara felt his pulse freeze in his wrists, the gears in his mind spinning with emerging conclusions. Since the decline of the marriage, Tenbu suddenly appeared and became interested in wiping out his family and any carrier of the Kazekage bloodline. It all made sense – or did it?

"Your father?" He questioned. "The Hoki Family has been an ally of Suna since the village's creation. What are you saying? Has your family betrayed us?"

Closing her eyes in held shame, she gave a subtle nod. "Since the arranged marriage between us was declined on your behalf, my father became enraged by Suna and its actions. Our family is in a state of decline, as our fortunes and authority that once made our family great are all but gone. The marriage between our families would have given my father more political power… so he thought by hiring Tenbu, he would be able to enact revenge." Opening her saddened blue eyes, she averted her glance from his. "My father hired Tenbu to do his bidding while he torments the remainder of our family… Strange masked men started showing up to our residence, practicing forbidden techniques…"

"What kind of forbidden techniques?"

"I'm… not exactly sure. Our home is no longer safe, so I fled in fear of my own life. Other than my father, I am the last survivor of the main branch of our ancient house. I had to depend on nothing except my faith in the desert-gods to escort me here in one piece… so I could warn you of what they're conspiring."

"What are they conspiring, exactly?" He asked, his glare easing from her confession. "I know they want to eliminate all traces of my ancestors and family, but I'm not so convinced that's their end-goal."

Silently, Hakuto glanced towards the sands at her feet, pondering her choice in words as the difficult answer rose within her throat. "Tenbu is plotting a coup against Sunagakure." Sensing his shocked expression, she looked at him, her blue eyes stern. "They are attempting to steal power from not only your clan, but the very village itself. Thousands of lives will be at risk, including yours and your family. That's why I risked my life to come here, so I can warn you in the hopes of their plan falling through."

Narrowing her eyes at her feet, she thought of the various vines between their plans, their plots, their schemes – there was another factor they spoke of that chilled her with the swiftest of unease. Her mind wishing that it was a mishearing from her eavesdropping, she could not get the words out of her thoughts. Tenbu sought a final piece.

"I also heard those of Tenbu talk of the 'wolf girl' many times… They kept mentioning it with their talk of forbidden techniques... a ritual… referring to 'those eyes', 'beasts', and 'wolf's blood'. Would you happen to have any idea of what that may mean for their plans?"

He felt his heart sink within his chest. The only words he never wanted to hear were spoken and rang true. Tenbu were searching for her, for Nomasaki – they always were. Flashes of the mysterious silver ore and the etched scar upon her arm were at the forefront of his memory as he wracked his mind for doubts – but he failed to find any. Her eyes, her clan, her blood – all spoken of in regard to a forbidden technique, but what? No matter the reason, he was sure it was for malice – and that her life was in danger. The timing of their blossoming relationship was perfect for not only himself - but for Tenbu. She was within their grasp, and he knew it as much as they did.

"…My lover." He spoke, bringing himself to look her in the eyes. "She's the wolf."

"Your lover?" She repeated, surprised for a moment. "Are you certain?"

Averting his gaze, he gave a solemn nod, shutting his eyes tightly as he held in his boiling frustration. Only the blackness of his ringed-eyes were visible, conveying his bitter hatred towards the menacing group that hid directly under their noses.

Noticing his silent response, Hakuto gave a sympathetic glance, realizing his hurt. "I guess those tales are true, after all." She spoke with a sigh. "Wolf-people, what a strange world we live in." Meeting his stoic glance and drained eyes, she smiled lightly to dissolve the tension as best as she could, remembering her fading time. "I also would like to thank you for declining the arranged marriage. Thanks to your rejection of the forced union, I am now able to elope with my lover and be with him. I… take it you've found love as well?"

Looking back at her friendly expression, he gave a small smile, attempting to shield his despair with the memory of the violet-eyed woman waiting for him in Suna. He longed to see her face, hear her soft voice, and find his way to her room once again within the confines of the night. His emotions getting the better of him, his smile grew warm with his unwavering love for her.

"Yes, I have." He nodded. "I appreciate your bravery for meeting me here."

Placing her black hood over her inky hair of silk, she turned her body towards the oasis path in the distance. "I should be on my way now," She said, her tone low. "The journey to Konoha from here is three days, so I have quite a bit of ground to cover. I have family within that village, so I'm hoping I can start a new life for myself there with my fiancé."

"Will you be safe?"

"Who knows," She sighed. "My father is… not the ideal clan leader. I fear for my life every day, but I hope I can at least rest along my travels." With a parting nod, she smiled softly at the young Kazekage. "Best travels to you, Gaara-sama."

Watching the young woman depart into the desert sands beyond, his gaze became riddled with concern. Although his mission was a success and not a ploy by the enemy, he was beyond certain that their next move would be a drastic one – troubling his mind for answers that would not come to pass…


	55. Moonlight

**_Author's note (2020/01/20):_ **Content advisory: smut (sort of?)

* * *

 **Chapter 55  
** **Moonlight**

* * *

"Is this true, Kazekage-sama?"

Meeting the stern gaze of the councilman that morning, Gaara nodded. "Yes," He answered, his tone slate-like. "I can confirm first-hand. Tenbu plans on preparing an ambush on our lands. Not sure when, but… soon enough."

"And can we trust this messenger of yours?" Zarō questioned. "How do we know they're telling the truth?"

"We don't," Gaara spoke, turning to him across the meeting chambers. "We just have to be prepared for what comes in the future."

"You're becoming foolish!" A disgruntled councilman shouted, standing from his seat. "As someone considered wise-beyond-their-years, you're proving to be more reckless than anything! Lives will be at risk -!"

"Lives will be protected." Gaara spat through his gnashed teeth, glaring towards him. Sensing them flinch in their seat, he eyed the rest of the councilmen before him, his expression in stern calming. "As the Fifth Kazekage, I've sworn an oath to protect Sunagakure with my life, and that's what I intend to do until the end of my days. This messenger has given us their word. I trust in that word, and so should you." Diverting his attention to the head advisor, he met his glance. "Zarō-sama, send word to the ANBU and the tracking unit. Tell them to man every castle in our region and to guard every corner of the village. I'm aware we're short on recruits, but the timing is becoming crucial."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama-,"

Alerting those within the council chambers, a Suna ninja entered within the brief lapse of quiet. Their face was calm but riddled with an emerging nervousness – a messenger.

"I hope you understand you're interrupting a closed discussion-?"

"Forgive me, sir," They interrupted, kneeling before the Kazekage and the councilmen. "But we've received word from the Hoki Family."

"The Hoki Family?" An elder chided. "What could they possibly want from us? The matter of the declined marriage is settled-,"

The expression upon the Suna ninja's face said it all – despair. "The family… there was a mutiny."

"Mutiny?" Zarō repeated, shocked. "What are you saying?"

"A black hawk came to us with the news that its patriarch was killed… by Tenbu. Those who survived fled to the Land of Rivers near the border, some to Konoha. They said their clan has fallen…"

"This is why I chose to believe the messenger," Gaara entered, his narrowed gaze directed towards the shock-stricken elder who questioned him. "Failing to do so could result in the same fate for us. I'm not taking any unnecessary risks, I can assure you."

Gritting his teeth, the elder averted his frustrated glance from the young leader, cursing himself. Hanging his head low, the Suna ninja narrowed his troubled gaze upon the floor beneath him, worry entering his mind. "There's… something else, sir. We… were unable to establish contact with the aviary of the Suna Prison."

"That's… ominous," Zarō pondered, placing his hand at his chin in suspicion. "Send another hawk their way. The last one could've steered off-course thanks to the growing sandstorms. It's nearing the summer, where the winds are at their most treacherous in our lands."

"Yes, sir!"

As he watched the Suna ninja depart towards the corridor, Gaara's glance narrowed in his thoughts, disturbed by the accuracy of the news and the alarmingly fast progression of the Hoki Family's swift demise. Hakuto was telling the truth – and Tenbu were not far behind…

* * *

The day of the inevitable finally came to pass...

Much to the council's chagrin, Temari fully pursued her relationship with Shikamaru of the Nara clan, leaving her life in Sunagakure behind and settling down in the far off reaches of Konoha that lay beyond the desert sands. Later that morning, at the village's only way out, Temari stood before her youngest brother - bidding her homeland and family farewell. Occupied, Shikamaru chatted with their hired movers from Sunagakure, discussing the change in terrain from the Land of Wind to the Land of Fire, and how long the trek would be – all while organizing her packed things in the large ox-pulled cart. With a large thud, she dropped the final box onto the desert ground, its contents rattling from the force - most likely ninja tools. Chuckling to herself, she placed her hands on her hips.

"I think that's the last one," She sighed. "Who knew moving would be such a pain in the ass… really, though."

Standing at the exit with a glance that held concern, Gaara watched. "Do you have everything?"

"I think so," She nodded, as one of the movers picked up her box. "If I missed anything, I can always take it back with me next visit."

"Are you sure this is what you want, Temari?"

Caught off guard by his solemn tone, she turned towards him, giving a warm sisterly smile. "Yeah. Shikamaru needs me in Konoha, so I'm making that happen… and I need him, as well." With a curious grin, she could not help herself but to pry. "You seem pretty interested. Something on your mind, Gaara?"

Jolting, he averted his glace, all traces of worry disappearing and replaced by his stoic expression. "It's nothing. I… was just being a curious brother, is all."

Surprising him, she held him close, her head resting upon his shoulder. Wide-eyed, he stood silently, not sure of what to make of the gesture. "You've grown up so much…" She spoke. "I'm proud to call you my little brother." As she let him go, she chuckled at his stunned expression. "Being Kazekage isn't too shabby, either."

Nodding, he lightly smiled at her. "We'll visit when we can."

"Thanks, I'll miss having you and Kankuro to dote on."

"Temari!"

As they turned behind them, they seen Kankuro running towards them from the stone-walled path. Once he caught up, he panted for a moment, standing up straight with a smile upon his painted face. "I was worried I'd miss seeing you off," He said. "My mission only just finished up."

Warmed, Temari smiled. "You came at just the right time. I knew you'd be late. You're always so pokey."

"Be careful in Konoha," He spoke, prepared to see her off. "You know how those Konoha ninja are, but Shikamaru's a nice guy and we trust him."

As she stood before her brothers, she knew the time had come for her to say goodbye. For the last twenty-three years, she called Sunagakure her home – and now her new home awaited her in Konoha. "Thank you," She smiled, gently. "Both of you."

"Hey, Temari!"

Curious, she turned around, seeing Shikamaru standing on top of the cart's wooden structure. "We should be on our way. If we leave while it's still morning, we can reach the village in two days' time."

"Right, I'll be right there." She nodded. As she made her first few steps outside the village, she paused, turning to her brothers one final time, a familiar smirk upon her lips. "Take care, you two. I don't want to have to come home to smack some sense into you!"

"No worries," Kankuro assured, his arms crossed. "We can handle things, although it won't be the same. We'll miss you, Temari."

Her green eyes glistening, she warmly smiled at the two of them, nodding in return as she began on her way to Konoha. Together, the two brothers watched her disappear into the distant sand dunes, standing in bittersweet silence.

As they started towards the village streets, Gaara turned to his older brother. "I guess it's just the two of us, then."

No response.

"Kankuro?"

With a slightly guilty expression, Kankuro avoided his glance. "Yeah…" He started. "About that…"

"What do you mean?" Gaara pressed, not expecting the sudden turn in conversation.

"The puppet corps promoted me a few days ago… as a captain. Because of this, they want me to live closer to the headquarters." Surprised, Gaara turned to him as they walked. Sensing his shock and observing his wide ringed-eyes, Kankuro quickly tried to explain himself. "I'll be in the same district! Just… I'll be living outside the mansion. That's all."

"This is all so sudden," Gaara acknowledged, absorbing the outcome. A light smile on his lips, he turned to his brother. "But congratulations, you deserve it."

"Thanks!" Kankuro smiled back. For a moment, he pondered as they walked, the noisy village streets interrupting his thought process. An idea ringing through his mind, he paused. "Ah! I know - Have you asked Nomasaki to move in with you yet?"

As he stopped, Gaara's eyes widened from the question, perplexed and surprised from the idea, flustering him slightly. "Why would I ask her that?" He asked, curiously. "We've been together for only a few months. Am I… supposed to ask her?"

"Well," Kankuro sighed. "Considering you're an adult, and she's an adult… and you plan on marrying her someday…" His smile turning into a brotherly smirk, he nodded at him. "I say you should. Beats living alone, anyways."

His thoughts striking him, he remembered the events surrounding their relationship - the shocked council at her beast-like appearance, the distaste from the declined arranged marriage. Although their pairing had been made fully public at Naruto's wedding only weeks before, there was still an air of controversy surrounding them within small pockets of the village – the elders and the horde of devoted fangirls, specifically.

"Speaking of which… have the council said anything else about…. you two?"

"What do they care?" Gaara chided. "After the arranged marriage nonsense, I didn't think they would pay any mind." Looking down, his eyes narrowed, suspicious of the hidden prejudice that lingered within the village and its aging citizens. "I kept our relationship hidden from everyone until Naruto's wedding, but they are aware now… whether they approve or not. They're convinced I'm putting my bloodline in danger, while an actual threat called Tenbu is terrorizing the Land of Wind to hunt our family."

"What can we say," Kankuro sighed, crossing his arms against his chest. "They're old-fashioned. The stink the elders put up about Temari moving to Konoha should be able to tell you that." He turned to Gaara, a smirk breaking the stern atmosphere. "Out of touch geezers, is what they are."

A small smile on his lips, Gaara nodded. "You're absolutely right."

While they continued on their way through the sand-riddled village streets, he began to remember the stress he felt about Tenbu, his mind lost in his sea of thoughts. Tenbu, the village, and her impending mission that awaited in the unknown future. Despair was held for the inevitable.

* * *

As nighttime approached, the sky darkened as if only in a few moments.

After a quiet evening out together, Gaara and Nomasaki walked through the secluded gardens behind the Kazekage's mansion. It was the only evidence of non-desert terrain in the entire village, brimming with grasses, cultivated cacti, vibrant flowers, and small shrubs. Standing silently along the perimeter of the mansion, Suna ANBU guards scanned for threats as the targeted Kazekage and his partner walked through the courtyard. In the darkening night, scattered lanterns showed the path towards the mansion as the sun disappeared from their view. Pausing in his steps, he looked on at her admiring the garden with his expression mired in worry. Sensing his presence far behind her, she turned towards him, her lilac eyes curious and concerned all at once.

"What's wrong?"

"You should…-," He started, averting his glance from hers, his eyes saddened. "You should reconsider that mission to scout for Tenbu, if they assign it to you." Meeting her eyes, his expression turned stoic, masking his vulnerable worry. "You're Moro-sama's right-hand. You should reserve the right to decline such a task when they need you here."

Slightly surprised by his suggestion, she walked closer to him. "Why?" She asked, a small smile on her lips. "I know you're worried, but the unit needs me. As you know, our numbers have fallen. If I get asked, I have to accept. I don't exactly have a choice." Her gaze saddened, averting her glance towards the ground beneath her feet. "I'm... prepared to act on my duty as a tracker-nin to the village, and… To be honest… I'm... scared. Tenbu are unlike anything I've seen or sensed before. They're monsters." Brushing off her hidden fear she confided in him, she masked her emotions with a friendly smile. "Regardless, I'll do whatever I can to protect you, as a kunoichi of Suna… and your lover."

"The squad that investigated them last didn't return." He reminded. "Tenbu is very adamant in harming my family." Glancing down with saddened eyes, he met her curious glance, his expression nearly pleading – unwavering in his deep adoration and protection. "…You are also my family. I would never be able to forgive myself if… something were to happen to you…"

Startling him slightly, her soft palms touched the side of his face in a comforting nature, cradling his smooth jawline as she met his eyes before hers. Noticing his widened turquoise eyes and faintly reddening cheeks, she smiled warmly at his expression of fluster – a side of him hardly ever seen.

"I'll be fine, I promise," She assured him. "I'm a wolf, remember?"

"How can I forget?"

Lightly, she chuckled at his words. Continuing on their walk together through the desert garden, she awkwardly remembered the lingering thought in her memory of what she found in his desk the day before. Unsure of how to go about confessing, she silently walked beside him, her folded hands clutched to her chest as she averted her nervous glance.

"I… saw the books in your desk drawer."

Freezing in his steps, he turned to her, his expression blank. She knew. Alarmed by his pause before her, she flinched before him, her cheeks reddening as she remembered the contents of the book she found in his office.

"It's alright, it's alright-," She stammered, waving her hands between them, trying her best to make light of the situation. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about." Looking down, she glanced to the side, grasping her arm as her mind tried to reach for the right words. "I just… wanted to know why you were… reading that."

Averting his eyes from her as he sighed to himself, he looked upon her as calmly as he could, embarrassment getting the better of him. "Listen, Nomasaki. The reason why is because…-," Upon seeing her face painted with a soft smile, he looked down to gather his words, scratching the back of his head as he searched for his explanation. "I was thinking a lot… about us, how much I care about you. I've… been reading books about expressing affection, and I…-," His words fumbled. Shutting his eyes tightly in attempt to hide his awkward shame, he turned away from her. "They're hard to understand at times, but... I want to do what I can to make you happy, so…-,"

To his surprise, she gently kissed him on the cheek. Opening his eyes, he saw her standing before him with a gentle smile on her soft lips. "You make me happy already," She nodded. "I love you just the way you are, grumpy or not."

Touched by her words, he smiled back, all of his embarrassment cast aside. "Am I really that grumpy?"

"Sometimes you are. Depends on the day."

After a shared moment together, she grew timid, her rising nervousness causing her to retreat her glance from his. Fiddling her fingers as she hung her head low, she thought of all the possibilities of how to ask such a question – something she had never asked anyone before. Aware of his hesitation for physical affection, she stood in silent thought before him, striking his curiosity as words failed to escape her lips in time.

"I… was thinking…" She began, her voice soft, her glance fixated in her shyness. "What if… you spent the night… with me…?" Timidly, she looked up to him only to meet his surprised glance before hers. Shyly, she averted her lilac eyes from him once more. "You don't have to, but…-,"

Startling her, she could see a nod from his head of red crimson from the corner of her eye. Stepping closer towards her, he paused. Looking up to meet his calming seafoam eyes, her heart pounded through her chest in the silence. He had a soft smile upon his lips – conveying his answer clearly to her. Surprised from his unspoken words, her face instantly turned red.

"A-Are you sure?"

"Yes," He spoke. "Tonight… I will share the bed with you, Nomasaki."

While she could feel her reddened cheeks hot against the winds, she averted her glance, her eyes of soft lilacs closed halfway towards the dim glow of the lanterns. "It's getting late," She whispered. Softly, she took his hand in hers, holding it gingerly. "We should… go to bed."

Sensing her soft fingers intertwine with his, he turned towards her and gave subtle nod. Letting her lead the way...

* * *

As midnight approached that night...

They soon found themselves within her small apartment outside the village plaza, taking refuge from the rest of the world within her darkened bedroom. Illuminating, the only light that broke through the darkness was that of the full moon of the desert, its presence glowing in scattered shards upon the floor. As the door to her bedroom closed, they found themselves enveloped into each other, their eyes meeting within a spark of longing. Carefully, Gaara embraced Nomasaki in his arms while their lips met in the darkness. Her heart fluttering within her chest, she put her shyness aside, kissing him softly. While his want for her grew as he felt the soft curves of her hips, he became surprisingly forceful, exciting the wolf that lay inside her gentle jaws.

Holding her closer with hands trailing to the blue fabric that covered her back, his sand flew from his gourd, startling them both briefly from his loss of control. Looking into his widened eyes of concern, her gentle palms placed along his jawline in assurance, her gleaming violet gaze telling him that everything was okay. Time seemed to have stopped in their recollection as their affections grew passionate, both of them lost within another while hands trailed and clothing became undone – their lips parting between breaths as they timidly undressed.

Standing before the moonlight entering through her window, she breathed slowly as her fingers reached for the obi of her dress – her final shroud. Briefly, she glanced down at the Kazekage's clothes that pooled upon the floor, their burgundy fabric visible in the moonlight. Sensing his chakra within the room around her, she could feel her heart race in her chest. Gingerly, the obi's wrapping was undone and fell to her bare feet upon the cold floor. Carefully, she turned to face him as he sat upon her bed – her lilac eyes glimmering with nervousness at the naked young man in her room.

His eyes were locked towards her within the darkness, silently observing her from afar.

Swallowing her fear, she opened her kimono, allowing it to fall from her shoulders before it slowly and elegantly made contact with the rest of their discarded clothes. As the moon's light beamed through the room, he could see every curve of her soft skin before him, the alluring shapes of her small breasts and hips no longer covered by the blue fabric but revealed to him that night as they were alone. Slender-figured with the faint evidence of muscle tone, the feminine shape of her porcelain body caught his attention – as well as every scar that painted her. Shocking him slightly, he saw dozens of small indents of blades dotted along her torso, backside, and shoulders, some appearing as if they were claw marks from a beast – the evidence of her shinobi duty and as a wolf of her clan. He could also make out the faint carving of the wound upon her arm, its pink hue reflecting in the moonlight. While she could feel his eyes locked onto her in a stunned glance, she averted her eyes in shame – knowing full well he was staring at her imperfect body.

"I know," She spoke, silently. "They're ugly-,"

"You're beautiful."

Surprised and awed by his words, she edged closer to him, sitting before him on the blankets of her bed – their bodies completely exposed to another for the first time. Nervously, she looked up into his eyes in the dark as they sat inches apart on her mattress. As she glanced into his eyes, she could sense that he was nervous as well. While he was gazing into her eyes, he struggled to say the words his heart wanted to speak – his fear of hurting her flooding his troubled mind. Never had he been in a situation such as this, and he was unsure of how to approach.

Finding his words, he edged closer to her in the night.

"I've been trying better to express how I feel," He spoke, his tone quiet. "And I think I'm ready for… this… with you…" Averting his glance for a moment, his troubled thoughts took over his mind. "I… don't want to hurt you…" Looking back towards her, his calming seafoam eyes met her timid glance. "Please… tell me if I do."

While she looked at him before her, her cheeks reddened in the night, her fingers slightly trembling upon the sheets below. Desire instantly flooded her mind. Sitting across from her on her bed was a young man with strong facial features and a thin-yet-muscular build, the toned physique of a highly skilled warrior. In the scattered moonlight of her bedroom, his messy red hair of a crimson shade and pale skin appeared vibrant to her. To her, he was breath-takingly handsome - and the Kazekage, the strongest and most powerful shinobi of Suna. As they sat in silence, his turquoise eyes ringed like a tanuki gazed into her eyes of lilacs, his glance mysterious yet mesmerizing at the same time.

She felt powerless.

As she sat shyly before him, her spine tingled like a livewire, the cool air from the room caressing her bare back. For the first time, she bore him her human skin, exposing herself for all she was - someone who was both a human and a wolf. Shielding her exposed breasts, her silky golden hair flowed over her shoulders as she held her head down in shame. In the dark, she averted her gaze as she could feel her nervousness begin to set in. Looking down at her naked lap, her body shook from the anxiety – panicked that she would accidentally change form while in her vulnerable state. Assuring herself, she delicately touched the side of her face with her fingers – confirming in her mind that she was still indeed human.

"You're trembling, are you scared?"

Timidly, she shook her head, her nervous glance averting his. Gently, he placed his palm on the side of her face, grazing her cheekbone with his fingers in a soothing and protective nature.

"No, I'm not," She answered, almost whisper-like. "I trust you, Gaara." Swallowing her fear, she looked up to meet his intent gaze – meeting his calming seafoam eyes as they sat breaths apart. Feeling her heart flutter within her chest from his stare and her cheeks blush, her lilac eyes glistened in the moonlight. "…Because it's you. It's you… It's you!"

After she spoke, he leaned in and kissed her adoringly.

Grasping the back of her golden head, he expressed every bit of his love for her as she embraced him, her soft lips returning his affections. Slowly, they fell into the sea of blankets below. Holding her close, he carefully slid his hand and followed her curves. Her skin was cold and smooth, just as he remembered from that night. Her skin melted against his, her heart fluttering from the love she felt as his callused fingers grazed over the curves of her perked breasts down to her waist. Pressing her into the bed under him, he kissed her passionately as he held her hands in his, holding them tight onto the mattress. Her delicate fingers clasped his hands, intertwined. Gazing into his ringed-eyes of turquoise as their lips parted, she felt her heart pound inside, sensing every fiber of chakra from his body becoming closer to hers.

Love was marked in his eyes, she could see it clearly from the moonlight.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Adoringly, they gave into their rising carnal urges. Tightly, she clasped his hands as she could feel him slowly slip inside her. Deflowered upon the bedsheets under her lover, her hips clenched from the feel of him entering. Breathless from the sudden sensation that tinged with a slight pain, her body quivered under him. Seeing her give a silent wince, he paused, his eyes full of concern.

"Am I hurting you? I'm sorry -,"

Her lilac eyes glistening in the night, she shook her head. "It's alright -,"

Taking in her words, he placed a hand upon her flushed cheek. "Nomasaki,"

Kissing her softly, he slowly and carefully moved against her, the faint hurt between her thighs dissipating with time. Her want for him pushed aside her shyness, pulling him closer as she gently placed her palms along his jawline, her lips meeting his as she relaxed and flowed with his rhythm. He felt every essence of her in that moment. Her smooth cold skin under his - the sweet scent of her silky hair pooled behind on the pillow - and the warmth that pulled him closer. He knew he loved her, but in that moonlight he felt as if he loved her even more. He could feel his control wane with time, his want for her only becoming stronger as he felt her skin against his.

As the newfound pleasure began to mount inside them, they suddenly locked eyes with each other – instantly getting lost within each other's loving glances. A sea of turquoise met a sky of lilac, their hearts becoming one. Passionately, his lips met hers, his nervousness leaving him at last while he embraced her in his strong arms. Remaining willingly submissive under him, she returned his affections as she could hardly contain herself further, her fingernails lightly digging into his strong back while she fought off the urge to change. Between each breath, they softly murmured each other's names as they ventured closer and closer to reaching the end.

Together, they surrendered to each other that night, their love blossoming along with the moonlight…

* * *

Hours later, sensing a stir in the middle of the night, Nomasaki awoke from her slumber.

She sat up stiffly, sensing the raw, throbbing pain that pulsed between her legs. Eyeing the tiny speckles of red beside her, she covered her breasts with the blankets as the cool air tingled her back, turning to who lay beside her in her bed that night. Silently, Gaara was laying beside her within the bedsheets, his strong bare back exposed. Soundly, and for the first time, she saw him finally asleep. While she gazed down at him lovingly, she noticed his expression was at ease and calm - content. Although he has not been bothered by insomnia since the loss of Shukaku, he still expressed difficulty when sleeping willingly – his work schedule especially wearing him down most times, causing him to evade rest when it was needed most. Seeing him asleep in her eyes comforted her.

Gently smiling to herself, she lay down with him amongst the sheets, nuzzling her back against his chest – closing her eyes and falling asleep beside him…


	56. The Debts Fulfilled

**_Author's Note (2020/03/13):_** This is it - we've made it to the home stretch at last! This chapter marks not only ~190,000+ words but also the beginning of the climax for this fanfiction. Originally, I planned on ending it at 32 chapters, then 40 chapters, and now I can confidently say it will end at ~65-68 chapters. I will also be posting a FAQ after the final chapter is published to answer any questions I've received in my PMs and to give fun-facts about the story and the OC characters involved.

Despite this fandom not being as active as it once was in its prime ( _and not to mention the pairing of this fic isn't popular, canon x OC pairing are relatively rare post-2019_ ), I'm completely amazed by the following, support, criticism, PMs, and reviews/comments I've received on this fic both here and on AO3.

I hope you enjoy this finale segment of my OC's journey and continue to support other fanfic creators - thank you all! xx

* * *

 ** _Author's Note (2020/03/13)_** **:** Content advisory: smut

* * *

 **Chapter 56  
The Debts Fulfilled**

* * *

When Gaara awoke in her bed that morning, he was surprised to meet the refreshing embrace of a long overdue sleep.

Stirring as he opened his eyes, the golden hue of her head did not greet him, nor did the vibrant shade of her violet eyes. Beside him there was only an impression left upon the mattress, its warmth from her still evident as his palm grazed it in his groggy daze. Scattered amongst the tiny specs of dried crimson where she lay were grains of dulled sand, only noticeable to him by his touch. His unrelenting defense was withdrawn for all but a moment that night, and the evidence was all around him.

She was his weakness - and he would not have it any other way.

Across from him he could make out the gleaming glass of his gifted flask, the sand swirling swiftly within its prison. She kept it close, he thought – it assured him. He could hear Nomasaki faintly in the distance as he rose from his slumber. While he fumbled at the buttons of his shirt as he dressed, he could not help but feel warmed as the memories of the night before flashed before his eyes – although a feeling of unease soon crept upon him as he stepped into the kitchen to find her tending to a boiling kettle and a disorganized cupboard.

Her feet silent upon the cold clay floor, Gaara watched as she stiffly took her seat at the table across from him, handing him his cup of steaming tea as the chair squeaked with her inching forward. Smiling lightly to herself, Nomasaki placed her elbows onto the table as she grasped her cup in her hands, her legs crossed as she sat. The blue fabric of her robe appeared bright from the intruding sunlight that peaked through the curtains of the nearby window, drawing his attention to the scar that painted her arm and the curve of her collarbone. In awkward silence, he kept to himself, taking scattered sips of his warm beverage in the hopes of overcoming the kind-hearted hurdle he faced before him.

"How was… the withdrawal for you?" She asked, timidly. "Were you able to slip out okay?"

He could feel himself freeze in his seat from her question, his hand flinching at his cup as his expression turned blank and flustered with red. It caused him to remember a passage he read in one of his books – the act he participated in the night before. Kankuro gave him the same advice once, as he remembered. He took it with a grain of salt. Sensing the distress in his widened ringed-eyes before her, she realized the error of her ways with her heart thumping in shy panic.

"I-I mean… since you were able to… leave work unnoticed – slip out from work."

"F-Fine," He uttered, embarrassed. "I have to return shortly, however. I don't want to fall behind on things."

"R-Right," She nodded, her gaze averted. Looking down at her lap, the shyness receded, replaced with a sense of warmth and awe. Gently, she smiled towards him. "I… do appreciate you staying the night. We should… spend more nights together, like this."

Smiling back, he gave a subtle nod. "I would like that very much."

Meeting her soft smile, his blooming happiness was soon overtaken by guilt and worry, marking its presence in his trouble turquoise eyes. His smile turning into a concerned frown, he hung his head low as he became lost in thought. The sand on the mattress, the blood, the way she rigidly moved upon the kitchen floor – he felt responsible. Bringing himself to face her directly, he met her curious glance with a heavy heart.

"You're not… hurt, are you?"

"O-Oh," She jolted, caught off guard by his quiet words. She shook her head, attempting to assure him with a familiar soft smile, forgetting about the ache that tinged her thighs that morning. "N-No, I'm alright. I'm just stiff from the way I slept is all. Really, I'm fine -,"

Closing his eyes, he pulled himself from the table and started towards the door behind him. Worried-eyed, she followed him. Pausing before the doorway, he reflected to himself on many things that bombarded his thoughts. Their shared night together, Kankuro's advice, Tenbu – all three incessantly gnawed at his mind while he searched for a reasonable answer for his abrupt departure.

How should he approach such a topic?

Glancing towards the tiny cacti that dotted the windowsill – its blue pedals catching his eye. He knew how she liked to keep the windows open and how often she spent her days confined to the shaded realm of her disorganized home. The purple in her eyes being a dead giveaway to their enemies, she would be easy to find – just as she was when those ninja from Ishigakure captured her seven years earlier. He shuddered at the mere thought.

"Something wrong?" Nomasaki asked, walking towards him. "Did you forget something?"

"No," He replied, brushing off his thoughts. "Everything's fine. It's just…" Noticing her curious glance towards him, he turned to face her directly. Towering over her petite stature, he looked down at the cold floor, his ringed-eyes closed halfway in concerned thought. "I know that we've only been together for a few months, but… I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it? You sound serious."

"Maybe you should… move in, with me?"

Surprised, her lilac eyes widened. "M-Move in?"

Meeting her eyes at last, hiding his fluster from her was indeed proving to be a challenge. His stoic nature nowhere to be found as he searched for the right phrasing. "I know it's a big step, but Temari is in Konoha now, and Kankuro lives closer to the puppet corps… Tenbu is after both of us, but… you would be safer… with me…-,"

Still stunned by his words, she remained silent and wide-eyed. Noticing her silence, he kept explaining, scratching his head of crimson that was ruffled with bedhead with his glance adverted to the floor between them. He could feel the nervousness he swallowed rise back up into his chest, catching him off guard.

"I'm living by myself in the Kazekage's residence, so I'd be more than willing to…-,"

"Y-Yes," She nodded timidly. "I-I will live with you."

Surprised, he rose his widened eyes towards her. "You will?"

She nodded, her eyes appearing excited yet serious, their violet gleam soft in the sun's rays. "Yes," She replied. "I will live with you as long as you'll have me, no matter if Tenbu is after us or not. To be blunt, this is a… surprise, but a pleasant one." While she started pondering to herself, she placed her fingers at her lips as she became lost in thought, thinking about all the sudden changes that were to occur in her life. "First things first, I'll have to sign-off my lease… I need to pack… But once we get settled, we'll be able to start our lives together and…-!?" Flinching, she jolted from the words she uttered from her rambling mouth. Nervously, she shook as she stood before him, shyness entering her flustered expression. "D-Did I really just say that?"

"…Yes."

He was just as surprised and flustered as she was, judging by his stunned exterior. Cowering away, she averted his glance from his. "I probably sound so foolish… We've been together for not even three months and here I am making these plans, and…-,"

Suddenly, she felt his strong arms hold her close. Comfortingly and with gentle hands, he embraced her. "You sound like 'home'…" He spoke, warmly. As she started to blush from his words, she smiled, holding him back. Once their embrace came to an end, he gave a soft smile her way. "I have to go now. The council will be looking for me."

"Alright," "She nodded, smiling back. "You should probably get going. You slept in."

"I did, didn't I?"

As the door creaked when he turned the doorknob, the blinding light of the sun shone through, breaking apart the soft shadows that painted her cramped apartment. Before leaving, he gave her a final glance, his expression smooth and calm in the daylight.

"I'll see you later."

With a slight creak of the closing door, his pleasant expression disappeared into the bright sunlight as the shadows returned once more to her apartment. Standing with her arms crossed against the blue fabric that covered her chest, she could not help but feel worried. Although her heart felt full of a fluttering warmth from their closeness, an irk at the back of her mind gnawed at her thoughts – her wolfish instincts voicing their discontent with the silence of the village. Something was off, and she knew it.

Starting towards the desk at the far corner of her living room, she decided it was time to write a letter to her father.

* * *

The day dragged on as if it would never end.

Secluding himself in his shaded office, Gaara sat silently at his worn desk, his head hung low. Held on his lap was an open book – one of the many books he took upon himself to read in recent weeks, its detail of affections continuously puzzling the young Kazekage as his narrowed eyes scanned its contents in vast detail. It was hours since he left the realm of her apartment, yet he felt nothing else mattered. The texture of her soft skin was still fresh in his memory, its cool feel enticing him to give in to a side he never thought he had. The way her soft breath felt upon him, her quiet winces, the way she grabbed hold of him with her delicate fingers – a feeling stirred inside of him that made him want more. Begging. He would drop everything to return to her right then and there. Being apart from her was proving to be more difficult as the days passed, and he knew he could not quell what his heart wanted.

As he read the end of the chapter, he grasped his messy auburn strands, wracking his brain to understand what the book was trying to convey. The longing he felt was unlike anything he understood. The unease he felt inside rose within him as if a burning urge. Intimacy continued to puzzle him, despite giving in to his fear only hours before – strange, he thought.

"I figured I'd find you here,"

Slamming the book shut, he whisked it into his desk drawer as Kankuro entered, his casual smirk painted across his expression. Brushing off his startled expression, the Kazekage coughed into his balled fist, positioning himself before his brother as he attempted to appear calm and collected – but forgetting the rousing and puzzling topics of the chapter was unachievable.

"I take it you've finished your assignment early," Gaara spoke. "What brings you here at this hour?"

"Nothing much, really," Kankuro sighed, stepping closer towards his desk. "I just wanted to brief you on the mission and…-? What's that?"

"What do you mean?"

Glancing over his desk, Kankuro could see the words of the book's cover clear in the afternoon sun – ' _Romantic Intimacy_ '. Irking him, he grimaced to himself, adverting his eyes from his younger brother's confused expression.

"N-Never mind… forget it. So… you didn't come home last night. Where were you? Fooling around with your botany?"

Gaara could feel himself flinch at his chair. His Sand Clone must have failed him, he thought – and at the worst possible time. "I was… with Nomasaki."

"All night?"

He was being intrusive.

Growing flustered, he narrowed his ringed-eyes towards him, nodding once. With an acknowledging sigh, Kankuro crossed his arms across his chest, closing his eyes. His curiosity getting the better of him, his older-brother-senses creeped into his foray, a mischievous smirk etching his lips as he opened his eyes to Gaara's guarded expression.

"Please tell me you used protection…"

"Kankuro-!"

"Who am I kidding?" Kankuro sighed, jokingly. "You have the Ultimate Defense, so…-,"

"This isn't the time or place for this," Gaara interrupted, his eyes narrowed – clearly embarrassed. "Can we change the subject?"

"Right," Kankuro chuckled, adverting his glance as he brushed the back of his head. "Well… I actually came here to let you know the move was made today. I was also assigned your main bodyguard by the council – for when you depart from Suna, at least. So, although my place is mainly with the puppet corps, I will be primarily assigned to suit your schedule."

"It's done, then," Gaara sighed, closing his eyes. "Things will definitely be different from here on out." Opening his eyes calmly, he gave a light smile. "Hard to believe, but I'll actually miss not living with you."

"Same here," Kankuro nodded, smiling back. "You should really think of hiring a housekeeper if you're going to be staying there in our family's old residence. You could never really grasp the whole 'cleaning-up-after-yourself' thing… your sand literally gets everywhere."

"I can't really help it," Gaara said, adverting his gaze. "Also…-," His words paused from his lips, realizing what he was about to say. Intrigued, Kankuro raised a brow, examining his frozen expression before him. "I… asked Nomasaki to move in with me. She… said yes."

"Ah, that's a relief," Kankuro sighed to himself, smirking. "I was worried you'd be stuck all by yourself… not that you'd mind that too much." Pondering to himself, his smug smirk disappeared, transforming into an expression tinted in sternness. "You're worried about her, aren't you? From that intel you gathered from that heiress?"

"Yes," Gaara nodded, looking down at the desk's surface with saddened eyes. "I am." Bringing himself to meet his brother's eyes, his tanuki-like eyes appeared as if pleading. "I must protect her, at all costs… having her close to me is the only way. I won't let them have her… not ever."

Sensing his inner strife, Kankuro gave him a glance in empathy. Just from the tone of his seafoam eyes, he could that Gaara loved her more than he would ever know, he thought – it was quite remarkable, especially in his case. Many years ago, when he was known as Gaara of the Sand Waterfall, he would not have given second thought to those around him. He killed on sight, left comrades for dead, and was certain that the thing known as 'love' never existed. Witnessing his journey of growth over the years made him proud to call him his brother. He became the Kazekage that Sunagakure desperately needed – and the kind-hearted young man who fought to protect those around him. He was deserving of love, just as everyone else – leaving the broken child behind in his memories.

Although Naruto was largely to blame for Gaara's change of heart those many years ago, credit had to be given to Nomasaki for teaching him to have the strength to love another – and to receive the same love from another person. In a way, Kankuro was in debt to her for the love she gave his brother – and he knew that the debt was clearly fulfilled.

"Gaara," He spoke. Pausing his words for a moment, he looked down. Meeting his ringed-eyes, he gave a stern nod. "Remember, you can always count on your siblings. I may be at the puppet corps for now on, but I will always be there for you… as both the Kazekage and as my brother. I give you my oath as your older brother."

Touched, Gaara nodded back, a pained yet saddened glint to his expression. "Thank you… really, I mean it."

"I should get going," Kankuro said, turning towards the doorway. "I leave for the Demon Desert in an hour. We're going to investigate the prison."

"The prison?" Gaara asked. "Haven't the council heard back by now? They sent another hawk only days ago."

"Not a single word," Kankuro shrugged. "It's quite odd. The prison is guarded by some one hundred shinobi. The ANBU is dispatching a team of their ranks with the puppet corps."

"Alright. Be careful, then."

Watching his elder brother's back as he left the room left Gaara feeling the unease return. As the sound of the door creaking to a close filled the room with a faint echo, he was once again lost in his inner turmoil of thoughts. He had a few more hours to complete his growing stack of paperwork – the thorn in his side – which meant a few more hours of contemplating his next move against the hidden terrorists who threatened his home and his family.

The evening could not come fast enough.

* * *

Over the next coming days, cardboard boxes packed with all her things soon littered themselves upon the clay floor of her apartment.

Her room was no longer the cave where she dwelled to do her readings, daydreaming, or boundless sleep, but a husk of its former self. The shelf of books was bare, her cacti gone from her windowsill, and all traces of her discarded laundry vanished from their scattered places along the floor. Her kitchen of empty bottles and dishes was vacant and clean, and the couch in her living room was removed from its spot upon the rag-covered floor.

It appeared as though no one even lived there to begin with, despite it being her home for over the last seven years.

As Nomasaki stacked the boxes in the center of the room, she paused for a moment to take in the sight. With the last of her rations from her home in the far northern mountains, she managed to convince her landlord to allow her to stay. That tiny apartment in the silent alleyway was her bastion – on good and bad days, it was always her home. That day, it was time to leave it all behind.

Bittersweet, she left her apartment for the final time that morning.

* * *

"This is the last one," She exclaimed, placing the final box in the center of their now-shared living room. "It's just books."

As Gaara watched her stand on her feet, he closed the door of their porch and started towards her. "I know you've been here a few times with Temari," He spoke. "But I'd like to show you around."

Curiously, she followed him down the winding hall of the residence. It was surprisingly bigger than she remembered – a home within the confines of the mansion away from the clatter and noise from his office and the council chambers, safe from any who sought it out. The living room had a large wine-colored couch, numerous shelves filled to the brim with books, and an ornate rug that painted the center of the floor. Across from the porch was a wide kitchen with a dining area, with a balcony overlooking the village nestled at its edge. As she followed close to him, they passed the recently renovated bathroom, the vacant rooms where Temari and Kankuro once made their home – and his bedroom, the door faintly open to reveal a bed and overflowing shelves of books and cacti.

"This is your bedroom, right?" She asked, confused as to why they continued past it.

"It was," He replied, his voice quiet.

Opening the door at the end of the hall, he flicked on the lights. Surprised by the sight as she stepped inside, she saw a king-sized bed accompanied by an end-table at each side – the faint glow of their lamps visible from across the room. Above the bed was a window adorned by cacti, the scattered sunlight of the outside world beaming onto the carpeted floor at their feet. As she marveled at the room, she paused before the exquisitely carved wardrobe that towered before her, admiring its craftsmanship with her timid fingers. Retracting her hand, she stepped towards him, her eyes glistening.

"Is this our room?"

Softly, he smiled. "Yes." Glancing at the room before him, his expression gave a subtle hint of sadness. "This is where the Kazekage rests. It hasn't been used in many years, so I decided to make it our bedroom."

"It's perfect," She nodded up at him, gently smiling. "I love it." Turning back towards the bed, she smiled to herself with a faint chuckle on her lips. "I know I can be messy at times… but I'll try my best to keep things tidy… for a time, at least." Looking up at him, she noticed an air of unease in his expression. "Gaara, is there something on your mind?"

Startling her slightly, she timidly flinched as he stepped closer towards her. Carefully, he held her close in his arms, resting his head upon her shoulder. His embrace was as soft as it was protective, rendering her comforted by his heartfelt gesture. She could feel the warmth that emanated from his chest, filling her senses with the memory of their shared night only a week before – reminding her of how she longed for him.

"I… would like to try... _that_ again," He answered, his voice nearly a whisper. "The council is occupied with the guardsmen… so we have all the time we want."

Since their night together at her apartment, it appeared as though he had become increasingly playful with her behind closed doors – something she never would have seen coming, but it excited her to no end. Still, as she was held softly in his arms, she could sense his nervousness of asking the question. With a timid and blushing nod, she gave him a warm smile.

"With you," She replied, gently. "Always."

Swiftly, a stream of sand closed the door at their backs as his lips met hers.

Adoringly, she cradled his face in her palms, kissing him in return as she could feel her growing canines begin to make an excited appearance. Embracing him and catching him by surprise, she kissed him with a passionate force that her wolf-side craved, with him grasping her in return. Carefully and in excited urgency, she undid the buttons to his shirt while he proceeded to untie her white obi as his shirt fell to the floor. Opening up the smooth fabric of her blue kimono, he grazed the soft porcelain skin of her breasts while he did so, his tender and careful touch making her gasp lightly between where their lips met.

As they made it closer to their shared bed, he lifted her in his arms and laid her down gently, with him slowly moving on top of her. Passionately, their lips met as they felt the shape of each other – yearning to make the beast with two backs as they have done a few nights before. Briefly, he leaned away from her, eyeing her with an intent and unwavering gaze as his hands trailed to the pants around his hips. Surprising him, she used her feather-like weight to flip him underneath her before he even had a chance to undo his belt.

Her smooth thighs holding his waist down onto the bed, she opened the leather belt and slid his pants off beneath her. She could feel his want for her below, his expression stunned and silent as he realized what was happening. With a loving gaze, she sat on top of him as her kimono rested like a veil on her elbows. He was easy to surprise sometimes, she thought - just like that time when they were genin. Even though he was the Kazekage and the most feared shinobi in the desert lands, he was still overpowered by her gentle and loving touch.

She was his weakness - and he knew it as well as she did.

Carefully, she leaned forward, kissing him softly as she placed her hands along the sides of his strong face. Smoothly, his hands strayed to her waist, holding her on top of him. A squeak escaped her soft lips as she felt him slip into the wetness between her thighs, the sensation surprisingly painless unlike the last time they gave into each other.

She was near breathless.

"You really surprise me sometimes," He sighed, looking up at her as she smoothly locked her hips upon his waist. "You're incredible…"

Pleasure mounting inside her, she grazed his strong bare chest with her delicate fingertips. "You're the one… who's incredible. You're the… Kazekage…!"

Startling her, he sat up, lifting her upon his lap. Her palms at the back of his neck, their lips were only breaths apart - the growing pleasure becoming more intense as the two locked eyes amidst their passion. Their gazes were unwavering from another, ringed-turquoise and gentle lilac. A moth to a flame. As she could feel his strong hands caress her scarred back no longer covered by her dress and his warm breath upon her neck, she felt utterly defenceless. He was finding every live-wire on her body and hitting each one on the right spot. Damn him, she thought.

He was becoming dangerous to her - and she loved every second of it.

"I am the Kazekage… but you're a wolf…!"

For the first time, the fear of hurting her was absent.

Forcefully, he held her tightly against his body, feeling every pulse and tingle from her emerging excitement as his hands pressed into the curve of her back. Feeling his skin on hers after so long made him want to bind himself to her with his sand. He never wanted it to stop. The thought flashed through his mind for a moment, thinking of the possibility. It felt so carnal to him, nearly irresistible. It was almost as if he were a jinchuriki once more - grasping for the very little control he had over the urges that plagued him. Fighting the desire, he focused on matching her slow and tender rhythm. Without a second thought, he pulled at the strands of gold at the back of her head, balling her long hair into his palm.

"Gaara -," She breathed with a smile. "I'll be... your wolf -,"

"You're mine, then... and I'm yours -," He breathed back into her. "Is that what you want?"

"Always," She whispered. "I'm yours... and you're mine -,"

Her words excited him nearly as much as his past bloodlust.

Hardly able to contain himself further, he kissed her with a force that startled her, exciting her feral instincts to no end. With the faint evidence of a bite, his lips smoothly trailed to her neck as they parted. Kissing her scarred porcelain skin under the shroud of her golden strands, his idle hand strayed from her waist to the skin of her smooth breast, massaging it with his callused fingers. His grainy texture rubbed against her cold skin with an alluring warmth, tugging at her perked nipple as she felt his lips part from her neck at last. Lowering his messy head of crimson, he released her strands from his grasp and cupped the other breast into his free hand.

His hands held them perfectly.

Before she could say anything, she felt his teeth graze her breast, sucking on her nipple that lay between his fingers. She felt the warmth of his tongue trace her as if he had done it a million times before. Her spine tingled, causing her to let out a moan laced with tickled laughter. Then, she felt him wander to the other one, her fingers digging into his red hair as she tried her best to contain herself. Her breathing grew hot and heavy in his arms, causing him to grasp her tighter. The more she gasped, the more he could feel his control slipping away.

Just as he was dangerous to her, she was becoming increasingly dangerous to him.

"We don't have to go anywhere, we can - stay here - for as long as we want,"

Rising up to meet her eyes, he placed his palm upon her flushed cheek. "For as long as we want."

As he embraced her in his strong arms, their lips crashed into each other with no sign of stopping while her hips continued to rock back and forth slowly upon his lap, grinding him smoothly as they sat on their newly shared bed. Ignoring the world around them, they got lost in each other's eyes as their lips parted once more. A tanuki and a wolf - what a strange world, indeed.

Entranced by their blissful passion, they forgot about her boxes in the living room...


	57. Two Names

**_Author's note (2020/03/20):_ **Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter, it was one of my favourite to write - it has some touching fluff in it. I'm currently in self-isolation following the COVID-19 outbreak, but I'm okay! I'm trying my best to prevent the spread, I have some family members I'm worried about so I'm working from home until April most likely.

That being said, I have a ton of free-time to write so my writing hiatus is short-lived. I have the ending clearly planned out so I'm going to try to keep an upload schedule of posting a chapter every Friday until this fic is completed.

Thank you for reading! xx

 _ **(See end of chapter for more notes!)**_

* * *

 **Chapter 57  
** **Two Names**

* * *

Sleep alluded them that cold night…

As midnight came to pass within the desert lands, the two lovers lay on their backs upon their mattress, concealed by the satin blankets that wrinkled over their bare bodies. Across the floor, the remnants of their clothes pooled upon the carpet, painted in the growing presence of the moonlight. Since they began to share a bed, they often spent their nights lost within their affections. Surprising Nomasaki to no end, the Kazekage was nearly as out-front about his desires as her. Although he was beginning to read her body like a book in their tender moments, she could still sense his timid nature sneak through the shield of his ringed-eyes of turquoise. She thought it was flattering. To have such an effect over one of the world's most feared shinobi enticed her to no end. Panting slightly as she caught her breath, Nomasaki looked up to the ceiling above, a soft smile painted on her lips.

"You know what?" She spoke. "You're surprising me."

Turning his head on the pillow, Gaara examined her amused expression. "How so?"

"Since our first night together a few weeks ago," She smiled to herself. Looking to him at her side, she could feel his gaze upon her within the bed. "I've noticed you've been more… willing."

"As are you," He replied, his expression holding slight surprise as he averted his glance to the bed. "I never realized… how strong you are."

As she could feel her cheeks flush with nervousness from his remark, she clutched the blanket over her breasts – averting her glance away from his eyes.

"I-I… didn't seem… too wolf-like… Did I?"

Surprising her, he placed his palm upon her flushed cheek. Turning to him, her lilac eyes met his warm seafoam eyes – feeling every bit of warmth from his glance. Slowly, she could feel her embarrassment melt away as they shared a loving gaze together.

"Don't worry," He answered, a gentle smile on his pale face. "You were human."

Smiling back at him, she placed her hand over his, taking in his expressed affections as they lay in their bed. Although only living together for less than a month, every night felt as if it were a new moment to be shared. Within her heart, she felt truly happy. Striking her curiosity as she gazed into his eyes, she noticed the tattoo hidden upon his forehead. Marked on his pale skin forever was the inscription 'love', and it was a hard feature to miss upon looking at him. Since the day she first met him seven years ago, the mark had always made her curious. Moving the strands of red away from it with her delicate fingertips, she gave it a heartfelt glance – her expression appearing slightly solemn.

"What is it?"

"You once told me your name means ' _a demon who loves only himself'_ ," She said, her voice quiet, retracting her hand back to her cover of blankets. "I just remembered."

"You never told me what your name means," He mused, changing the subject abruptly. "Can you tell me?"

"My name doesn't mean anything, really." She spoke playfully. "It's an old name from my homeland, it means ' _a blossom in the field'_. My... mother chose it."

"A _'blossom in the field'_ , huh? It suits you well." He turned to her, a faint smile on his lips. "You are… a hopeful person. Strong-willed, too. Like those flowers on your mountain."

"You saw the flowers?" She smiled. "I shouldn't be surprised, since you're a botanist."

"Not a professional botanist," He caught himself smiling a blush. "Those flowers… what are they called?"

"Snow lilies, they bloom only in the Land of Mountains. They're one of the rarest in the world and the most beautiful. I think so, anyways."

"Like you," He nodded, smiling gently. "Nomasaki."

Hearing him say her name the way he did filled her with unspeakable bliss.

As she met the gleam of his eyes, she could not help but smile while she felt a flush upon her soft cheeks. He may appear rigid at times, but he certainly had his tender moments – she thought to herself, humbled and awed at his words. To her, it was still unfathomable for her to imagine sleeping in the same bed as him – yet it was her reality every night. Although he still had his routine stirrings from insomnia, he would still at least attempt to gain a full night's rest while his lover soundly slept on her side of the bed. If he could not sleep, he would still hold her close either way.

In a way, the night was where they were the closest to another.

Unlike the daytime when they were separated by their responsibilities, the night was where they could finally reunite without the callings of work or duty. Coming to an empty home after work was something she was used to, but when Gaara arrived at the rise of dusk hours later, she felt truly at ease. Being with a Kage was not an easy feat – nor was being with a 'foreign-born common-folk', as the disgruntled elders put it – but nonetheless, they made it work as if effortlessly.

Closing her eyes as she smiled to herself, she lay her head of woven gold upon his strong bare chest. Her delicate fingers tracing the warmth of his skin in a soothing nature. He truly was the fire to her ice, she thought to herself. Unlike her cool-to-the-touch skin borne of snow, his was comforting, warm, and gravitating. For a moment, she imagined the soft sands of early summer – a season that was only weeks from approaching. Without even trying, he pulled her to him as if a magnet – and she wanted nothing more than to feel his warmth for as long as time would permit. Knowing the fragility of the shinobi world, she wanted every moment to count – and she would not give up without a fight.

"I'm not sure how my name fits me as it once did..."

She felt the change in tone from his voice as it breathed through her.

Unlike only a few moments ago, his voice was not coated in his contentment, but in slight sorrow. Empathy entering her violet eyes, she could see the past pain that still lingered behind his expression. She remembered the rumors and stories of his past well, all of them striking fear into her heart. All his mania, the killings, his father, and Shukaku's merciless influence - they left their mark on him forever, and she could see it before her very eyes. The red of the kanji chilled her in a way that was both uneasy and sympathetic.

She felt fortunate to have crossed paths with him when she did - and she knew he felt the same way.

"' _A demon who loves only himself'_..." He repeated, laying upon his back, his eyes looking towards the ceiling. "My name..."

"When I look at you, that can't be further from the truth…" She began. "You're so kind and care so much for the village… and for me." Meeting his surprised glance, she gave him a gentle smile, placing her palm along his jawline. "I can tell that you love me, just by looking into your eyes. I know."

Edging closer in the bed, he tenderly kissed her forehead. "That's true," He agreed, smiling back at her with adoration in his ringed-eyes as he touched her porcelain cheek. "There is nowhere I would rather be than right here."

Softly, their lips met once more, embracing each other within the cover of the sheets. Surrendering to her desires to him once more, she lay her back upon the mattress as he made his way over her, cradling her face in his palms. It had been less than an hour ago since their last time, and a second wind had surprisingly approached.

The moment felt perfect.

"Kazekage-sama!"

Startled, Nomasaki could feel herself flinch underneath the sheets – unaware of the guest who urgently knocked at their door. Pausing in his affections upon the smooth skin of her collarbone, the voice from outside their home ruined his train of thought. Gathering his clothes, Gaara hastily dressed himself, a dismayed scowl painted upon his grumpy exterior.

"Shit…!" He muttered under his breath. "What now…?!"

Making his way to the door of his home from the shadows of the hallway, he opened the doorway to find a trembling Suna ninja waiting for him, their expression both urgent and frightened. A new recruit, he thought.

"What is it? I'm retired for the night. If possible, can this wait until-,"

"Gaara-sama," The ninja stammered. "It's from the ANBU and the puppet corps! There was an explosion at the Suna Prison… Nearly all the guards were killed, one is unaccounted for at this time… as well as a high-security prisoner. We suspect that it was a planned occurrence – a prison break, for lack of a better term."

"What?" Gaara jolted, taken aback by the news. "Who was it? Who escaped?"

Gritting their teeth, the Suna ninja hung their head low. "Kenzō-sama, sir…!"

Gaara felt his chest seize from the mention of that dreaded name.

It was nearly three years since the councilman's arrest and confinement. Who would have known that the disgruntled dissident who manipulated the shadows of his chamber would cause such an upset that late night. The reasoning behind it raised suspicions, unsettling his once calm thought. The prison was equipped with more than one hundred guards who swore fealty to their oath to protect the village and was standing just shy of a century within the vast and unforgiving scorched dunes of the Demon Desert to the south. Hearing of an act of such destructive force was unimaginable. It then made sense why he had not heard back from Kankuro or the puppet corps, he thought – clearing out the dead must have been a daunting and horrific task.

"Kenzō?" He repeated, his eyes widened from the name. "Are you sure?!"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well," Gaara sighed, narrowing his glance into a serious glare.

His growing tiredness was beginning to ease off him once again. Coming over him like a wave of unspoken nerves, he felt his eyes become heavy while his mind woke from its longing for slumber. A night of insomnia was waiting for him – and he knew it would be a long night.

"Alert the ANBU and the tracking corps," He commanded. "We must recover him at all costs. He's a threat to Suna, we can't allow him to escape! There's no telling what his plans are."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama!"

Once the ninja was gone from his doorstep, the troubled Kazekage closed the heavy wooden door with a lock and started back down the hall towards the bedroom. Stepping inside as the door closed behind him, he met the concerned glance of his lover from the cover of the bedsheets, her violet eyes wide and frightened. He could tell from the mere glance of her that she heard everything.

Her faintly trembling palm on the blanket proved it to him.

"Gaara?" She said, her voice quivering. "That messenger -,"

"It's nothing," He assured, making his way to the bed. "Just go to sleep."

"Did he… did he really escape? Kenzō?" She stammered, looking up at him. "Is it true?"

"He can't harm you now," He said, placing his hand on her shoulder as he sat upon the mattress. "Remember, Commander Moro relieved you of your mission years ago, and I cleared you of any wrongdoing. You were pardoned -,"

"It's not that," She shook her head, her lilac eyes deep with worry. "He might be after you."

The pain in her eyes shook through him.

He understood her fear, and he felt it, too. More than anything, he felt a heaviness in his heart. Sitting beside her as he looked into her fearful eyes, he remembered the colored bruising that marked her cheek that day before the war. Kenzō's doing, the evidence etched upon her in splotches of blue and purple. It was years since that day, but the memory continued to anger him greatly. Just as they had finally come together, he could sense an outside force vying to rip them apart from another no matter the cost. The sorrow crept up to his throat as he met her distressed expression. Perhaps the timing was not perfect, after all.

It never was.

In the shinobi world, peace was seldom common – just as was growing old. Death waited in all corners, welcoming any shinobi that dared to cross him. But in the era after the last war, the peace was supposed to last – they all believed it would. Nothing lasts forever, he knew that. But if something had to last forever, he wished it was the comfort and love he felt as he lay beside his lover in their warm bed every night.

He would give anything to keep her safe – even if it killed him.

He knew it.

Masking his despair behind the guise of his ringed-eyes of turquoise, he feigned a light smile. Moving his fingers to her cheek, his soft caress drew her attention to his calming expression. Her surprise made him feel relieved for but a moment. He could not help but feel warmed as he looked into her purple eyes – the eyes of spring. Smiling gently, he gazed into her eyes of lilac.

"There is no way that Kenzō can hurt me, I promise. As long as I'm the Kazekage, this village will be safe. _You are safe_. I promise you that."

As she could feel a timid blush warm her cheeks, she glanced down at her blanket-covered lap. She could sense his chakra wrap around her within that room, its strength and ferocity comforting her in a way reminiscent of his sand-shield. She was a halberd, she thought – the halberd to his shield. He vowed to protect her – but she held into herself her desire to do the same for him.

But she was no shield.

She was a wolf, above all else – and she knew her place. That was where she decided, and if it was to protect him – so be it. His gaze upon her melted away her fear that night, allowing her to forget the thoughts that troubled her. Swallowing her rising shyness from her fluttering chest, she gave him a warm smile.

"Would the Kazekage be willing to… come back to bed?"

"Gladly."

Leaning closer towards her as he removed his shirt, he softly held her face in his palms, kissing her as gentle as could be within the night. As she held him close, the two fell into the blankets within the darkness while the candle slowly faded into a pool of wax where it stood upon their nightstand.

Forgetting what plagued them, they became enveloped within the moonlight once more…

* * *

In the warming winds, summer was on its inevitable way towards the lands that lay coated in sands.

Sandstorms were a common sight from beyond the crater that contained the village. Much to their good fortune and the forces of nature, the strong cliffs that surrounded their home shielded the vast settlement from the scorching elements. Inside the examination room of the Sunagakure Hospital, Nomasaki was eager to be away from the dry and hot air that plagued the village. The air conditioning was soothing to her in a strange way – but made her long for winter once again. Although a naturalized citizen for over seven years, her cold fair skin still became burnt when exposed to the blinding sun for too long. Sometimes she felt as if she were melting.

Gaara assured her that was not the case.

Sitting on the examination table, she watched Meiyumi skim through her charts at her desk. Since the end of the war, her friend had taken up residence at the hospital under the teachings of many senior medical officers. Although an apprentice practitioner, her healing jutsu was as exquisite as ever and her knowledge of ailments and their solutions was amongst the best of her colleagues. Nomasaki was glad to have her as her doctor for the day. Having not seen her for a while since their last encounter, she felt guilty for not visiting her former teammate and close friend – and self-proclaimed 'sake-buddy'. From Gaara's insistence and her own paranoia, she decided to make an appointment. Slightly nervous, she sat upon the clothed table beneath her with her hands folded onto her kimono's lap.

"Your chakra is slightly disturbed," Meiyumi sighed. "That's… odd."

"Disturbed?" Nomasaki asked, confused. "How so?"

Flicking through the sheets on her clipboard, Meiyumi narrowed her eyes at the chart before her. Its path was appearing strange to her, its direction unstable and perplexing her questioning gaze. Nervously, Nomasaki watched in silence.

"Your chart is displaying an erratic pattern," Meiyumi turned to her. "Are you able to mold jutsu?"

"Yes, that hasn't been an issue. Except…"

Nomasaki's mind stopped for a moment. She felt the sudden slight boil of her blood as she wracked her thoughts for the right words to best explain herself. Despite her kekkei genkai becoming much easier to control since the encounter in Konoha months ago, there were still times where she felt she was back at square one. Especially since moving in with Gaara.

Was something setting her off?

Perhaps she was stressed from the adjustment, she thought – that had to be the reason. But what if it was something else – something more? Her glance drifting in her thoughts, her narrowed eyes conveyed her uncertainty and her deeply-held shame.

"Except what?" Meiyumu raised a brow. "You stopped talking all of the sudden."

"O-Oh, sorry." Nomasaki nodded, embarrassed from her absent-mindedness. Feeling the pink of her scar, she glanced down at its marking still evident upon her arm. It still throbbed – months after the attack. "My kekkei genkai… it appears to be coming in waves. It's… getting harder to control. Ever since I got this scar, I haven't felt the same." Her glance saddening, she pulled down her blue sleeve and averted her eyes. "I thought I was improving, but…-,"

Meiyumi narrowed her eyes slightly at her friend's arm that was covered by a sleeve. Not once had she heard of such an affliction in her apprenticeship. Brushing off the glum tone of the room, she gave a light-natured smile.

"That's strange for you, knowing how often you use it." She sighed. "I'll be honest, I miss seeing you tear our opponents to shreds sometimes."

Nomasaki jolted, embarrassed by her comment. "I-It's not that I mean to-!"

"I'm kidding, I know you're not like that." Meiyumi smiled, fiddling with the medical tools before her as she organized them. "Still, for how soft you are, it surprises me you stuck with the tracking unit all this time." Diverting her attention away towards the idle computer at her side, she began typing on the worn keyboard. "I'll schedule you for another appointment in about two weeks' time, so we can monitor your chakra and see if it improves."

Sliding herself off the clothed examination table, Nomasaki straightened her back. Patting down the dress' fabric at her lap, she gave a light smile towards her friend. At last, her long-awaited appointment was over.

"Thanks, Meiyumi."

Starting for the door after they shared a communal nod, she took a calmed breath. She was eager to get home and tell Gaara the news that everything was alright. Although the disruption of her chakra disturbed her greatly. She decided it was better to not think anything of it – for now, at least.

"I also heard the rumors,"

Freezing in her steps, Nomasaki paused before the doorway. Grasping the doorknob, she turned back to her estranged friend. Meiyumi had a devious-looking smirk painted on her lips. It was similar to the face she would make when they would be drinking together, she thought – it was an odd occurrence. Curiously, she raised a brow.

"What rumors?"

"You and Kazekage-sama, of course!" Meiyumi awed, grinning from ear to ear. "I never thought you had it in you. You're brave for even just approaching him in that way! It was obvious you liked him, though – we _all_ knew since we were in the war together."

The words from her friend's mouth made her flinch.

Everyone knew, she thought – how embarrassing. Unaware of her feelings for him since the beginning, she wondered if it was that obvious all along. Telling Gaara himself was one thing – making their relationship public before the disapproving council and villagers was another. Although the council was easing on their hardened stance against it, snide comments about her parentage were still whispered amongst the elderly councilmen.

She could deal with that.

What upset her the most was Shinto. Having not seen him since the war, she knew of his deep distaste for Gaara since they were children on Team Hashira. His hatred for the Kazekage might have even been greater than that of Hanone's when the wolf was still alive, but nonetheless – Shinto was a shinobi – and shinobi served the strong. Entering into the ranks of the Sunagakure ANBU opposite of her, he was a dedicated servant of the village who answered to the person he despised most.

She wondered if Shinto hated her as well.

She took his long and drawn-out silence towards her as evidence, carrying it in her heart every time she crossed the shrouded faces of the ANBU as she strode by them while wearing her snarling mask of the tracking unit. Gaining friends had come somewhat fluidly to her as she adjusted to life in Suna over the last seven years, but losing a friend was as unbearable as having none.

Having heard the story from Meiyumi when they were genin together, she understood why his hatred was so strong.

Haunting her memory when she would see Shinto glare on at Gaara from afar, she remembered when Meiyumi told her that Shinto lost his parents due to an enraged Shukaku. Years before she collapsed in the desert, the one-tail emerged suddenly in the heart of the village and killed nearly a hundred civilians in its unbridled wake of death and sand. Gaara was mad, then – she remembered – and a child of mere six-years.

So was Shinto.

That dreaded night, Shinto's parents were amongst the many victims of the faulty seal that bound Shukaku to the son of the Fourth Kazekage, the boy fraught with uncontrollable madness. Since that day, Shinto did not fear the prodigal jinchuriki – he _hated_ him with every fiber of his being. Even after Gaara changed his ways and became the beloved leader Sunagakure hailed as the Fifth Kazekage, Shinto still clung to his deep-seeded hatred.

Time only festered his hatred.

She sympathized with him in that regard, remembering how she clung to the hatred that was connected towards her once-estranged father. The father she never knew growing up with her ill mother in the snowy mountains. Hatred was a powerful thing, she thought. Just as powerful as love, hatred was borne from it along with pain. They were similar forces, albeit a double-edged sword.

"Um… yeah," She said, her voice unknowingly quiet as she averted her gaze. "Was it really that obvious…?"

"Speaking of which," Meiyumi jolted in her seat. "Nomasaki – are you being safe?!"

Safe, she thought to herself – what did she mean?

Suddenly, she clued in. She realized. Flustered by her friend's worried and eager expression, she watched as Meiyumi frantically skimmed through her charts at the computer's desk. Seeing her flip through the pages so fast made her nervous.

"Well, I-I… -!?"

"Did you need me to write you a prescription for birth control, or -?"

"T-That won't be necessary," Nomasaki smiled, awkwardly. "My body is going through enough already." She froze. Her face reddening in embarrassment, she let out a feigned cough and averted her gaze. "C-Chakra-wise!"

"I sure hope so…" Meiyumi snickered. "Anyways, you should meet with Shinto and I for drinks! Like old times."

"Oh,"

Nomasaki jolted, surprised by the name. Shinto. Meeting with him again would be an awkward experience for sure. Although she missed him, she felt it would be an ill-fated reunion. Having not seen him in nearly three years, there was no telling what he thought of her now - especially if he also heard the same rumors Meiyumi eagerly spouted of the half-blood being with the Kazekage. She hoped her past teammate would give her an exception. Giving a light smile, she hid her shame and nodded.

"Sure, it's just I'm… very busy these days so I'm hard to pin down."

"I'd say!" Meiyumi groaned, smirking coyly. "You're dating a Kage and you're Moro-sama's right-hand! That's more than the average person can handle."

"I guess that's right," Nomasaki smiled back. "Thanks, Meiyumi."

Turning back towards the doorway after an exchanged smile, she closed the door behind her. Stepping into the clammy hot air of the hallway, she was left alone with her thoughts as she maneuvered her way down the wide corridors of the hospital. As she felt the heat stick to her skin, she gave a slight shiver.

How could she be cold on such a day?

* * *

As the two medical-nin examined the odd shard of ore, time ticked slowly.

Before the wide steel tray it was laid upon, Sakura narrowed her green eyes at the unmoving substance. It has been near a month since Naruto's wedding, and nearly two months since the ore appeared in their laboratory. It was eating away her time and her patience. Since that day, neither her nor Shizune could figure out exactly what was contained within the rare ginkō mineral. Sleeping on the couch to the far side of the room, Shizune was catching up on her long-absent sleep schedule. Tsunade was once again on her many travels, vacationing in a far-off land while she hid from loan-sharks and gamblers that crossed her unlucky path.

They were on their own.

Dismayed, Sakura stepped away from the mineral and eyed the charts on the computer. They were unmoving – as usual. Beside the computer was the magnetized chakra-analyzer – a leftover from the nearby lab that was placed during the recent renovations. The device was as large was it was intimidating. She knew how to use the smaller analyzers, but not the desk-bound ones such as the one that sat before her.

With a sigh, she decided to wake up her lab-mate and head home. It was past midnight and she had another long day ahead of her tomorrow with a new mission. As she yawned, she unknowingly struck the on-switch for the machine at her backside. Stepping towards Shizune, the machine activated behind her. Attracted to the ginkō ore on the tray, the shard of glowing mineral began to shake.

Violently, it began thrashing.

Pausing, Sakura whipped her head towards the device. Shocked, she heard a high-pitched noise ring through the room, muffling out the dim hums of the fluorescent lights above. The mineral was glowing a bright blue glow, hauntingly almost.

"What's happening?"

"Huh…?" Shizune stirred, rising slowly from her sleep. Upon seeing the light across the room, she jolted awake. "S-Sakura!"

In a sudden burst of energy, the screeching ginkō ore exploded into a blast of blue flame.

Striking the vicinity, a shockwave rumbled through the lab, throwing both kunoichi to the tiled floor. It blew out the lights above in a burst of unfathomable force, the glass from their casings falling to the floor around them as the room became enveloped in sudden darkness.

Slowly, Sakura and Shizune rose to their feet, brushing off the shards of glass. Wincing, Sakura pulled a shard out from her arm. Surprising her slightly, Shizune appeared before her in the dark with the green aura of her medical ninjutsu, healing her bloodied wound.

"Thanks, Shizune." Sakura nodded. Looking towards the table where the ore once lay, she narrowed her eyes. "What the hell was that?"

The tray where the ginkō ore lay was marked by a black ring of ash, the chakra-analyzer near melted from the impact. Shocked, she stared towards it. That was close, she thought – but what happened?

Hearing footsteps rushing down the hall, a team of distressed medical-nin soon appeared…

* * *

 _ **More notes...**_

* * *

 _ **(2020/03/20):**_ Fun fact: my OC's name actually means something! (This is a rewrite fic, I just picked a random name when I was twelve for Quizilla lol also to add - I picked her clan name for the rewrite and looked up the meaning prior to writing)

In standard katakana, her name is written as "Nomasaki" (ノマサキ). Although, in kanji her name can translate roughly to "blossom in the field" (野間咲). Her name is also the same as the Noma Saki (sometimes spelt Nomazaki) lighthouse in the Aichi Prefecture of Japan.

Her clan name, "Yamamori" can be directly translated to "mountain forest", with "Yama" (山) translating to "mountain" and "Mori" (森) translating to "forest". In other sources, "Mori" can be translated to "guardian".

I thought that was an interesting find, to say the least.

Also I want to clarify that I can't read/speak Japanese (I'm a French-Canadian) so if my translation is off - I'm sorry (blame Google).


	58. The Beast Within

**Chapter 58  
** **The Beast Within**

* * *

Waking from a stir, Nomasaki budged within the bed in refusal to rise at a reasonable hour.

Just a few more minutes, she plead internally – daylight trying to make its way into her shut eyes as she tossed within the sheets in hiding. Beside her, the bed was empty. Only scarce grains of sand dotted where Gaara lay the night before, his side of the bed tidied slightly, pillow and all. Although she had the day off, she did not take kindly to waking earlier than necessary. She relished in a good night's sleep and her sleep schedule had never been one to stay regulated. Thanks to cutting back on assignments, she was able to enjoy more rest – unless Gaara's insomnia needed company. Lately, however, she had become increasingly restless since the messenger showed up at their residence only nights ago. She felt an emotional change come over her, sweeping her into a whirlwind of anxiety and dread. Sleeping it off was her main concern.

Pulling herself up with a stretch, her fanged yawn tinged a muscle in her abdomen. Clutching her stomach, she winced in silence as she heaved upon the bed in a sudden wave of pain. Peculiar. Bringing herself to check, she slowly moved the sheets from her lap. Dismayed, she saw the clear bright red signal of her monthly visitor sprawled under her.

It came late – but nonetheless still showed up.

Of all times to make an appearance, the gods of the desert were playing with her. Although thankful she would not bear the council any heirs for Gaara in the near future, she was disgruntled by its surprise arrival. Growling under her breath, she promptly hopped off the mattress, straightening her silken robe as she dressed and pulled the inner dressings of the bed off into the laundry basket. She hoped Gaara would not find out, he would be horrified – she thought to herself. Having only scarcely interacted with women his entire life, the notion of any bodily function still made him uncomfortable and awkwardly silent.

For the first time, she was glad that doing the laundry was her task.

* * *

Sitting across from him at the table, she averted her eyes to her lap that morning.

Feeling the discomfort of her abdomen soured her day. Although it was an easy clean-up, she thought of her visit with Meiyumi last week. She would never admit it, but there was a burgeoning thought that would not leave her be. She found herself entertaining the thought of one day having his children. Never having thought about it in her adult years – or ever in her life, for that matter. For a moment of brisk confusion, she wondered if she were wolf enough to be going through heat. No, she corrected in her mind - she was not a dog.

Regardless, after their eventual marriage, the prospect of children would be highly welcomed with either relief or disdain from the elder councilmen. They would be of two bloodlines, she reminded herself - if it were to ever occur. An intriguing yet fearful thought. She wondered if Gaara would be able to provide her with an answer that could help her decide for herself. Knowing it was a sensitive topic, she refrained from ever asking about his father. There was no telling what his reaction would be if she made the plunge to tell him.

Quietly as he sat dressed and prepared for another day's work as the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara watched her with a curious expression while he tried to decipher what was going on in her mind. No avail. To him, she appeared saddened and worried, her usual pleasant expression mired in unfamiliar despair.

It had to be Tenbu or Kenzō, he thought – or was it something else entirely?

"Nomasaki," He started, his eyes concerned. "You haven't said anything since waking this morning. Is there something troubling you?"

Catching her attention, she glanced at him briefly in her surprise as her train of thought became derailed. He seemed worried. This was her chance. Mulling over her words, she returned her glance down towards her robe-covered lap, hoping that focusing on the stitching of its blue fabric would distract her from her discomfort.

"Did you… ever…?" She began, her voice low. "Never mind, it's nothing."

"What is it?"

Her heart fluttered in her chest from his pressing. Gathering her courage, she looked up to him. Meeting his curious glance for but a moment, she quickly glanced away as she felt a wave of warmth flush her cheeks. Even in simple moments, he had a way of making her vulnerable. Unknowingly, a timid smile formed on her lips.

"It's just something that was on my mind recently…" Glancing back to him, she met the gleam of his seafoam eyes across from her. "Did you ever… want to… have a family, someday?"

He froze.

Realizing his stunned expression and widened eyes, she felt a chill cross through her. She knew he would not take the question lightly – her mistake. Then she realized she was not exactly clear, jolting herself from her embarrassment as her face reddened in panic.

"N-Not anytime soon!" She said. "I-I was just curious, is all. I… never thought to ask."

"I've… never gave it much thought." Gaara answered, searching for words.

Turning towards the window at his side, his ringed-eyes held a saddened tint as they calmed from his initial reaction. The question she asked was certainly unexpected – as was the prospect of someday having children. Because of death's looming shadow, shinobi were known to have married young to preserve the existence of their bloodlines. One of the many reasons why he rejected the arranged marriage put forth by the council was not just so that he could be with the woman he loved, but to avoid the council's insistence of producing an heir to the near-extinct bloodline of the Kazekage clan – Rasa's bloodline of the Magnet Release kekkei genkai.

But things were different now.

If he were to have children, they would not only be his – they would be _hers_. Briefly, he imagined a rosy-cheeked infant swaddled in a blanket, his red hair and her gentle violet eyes. The thought was also enticing to him the more he entertained it. But then he remembered that he was not the best with children. In fact, he was scared of children. They were fragile, unpredictable, and they were dangerously curious. He was definitely _not_ ready to be a father. His incessant caution and protection during their numerous 'nights' together proved that fact.

His biggest fear was having history repeat itself.

Although he took pride in being nothing like his late father in regard to harnessing the unbridled power of Shukaku, Gaara worried that he would not be able to care for a child in the way that was to be expected. If he were to have a child with her someday, he would promise to himself to raise it with the unconditional kindness and love like that of Yashamaru, his late uncle – but he still had his doubts.

Turning away from the window, he averted her timid glance by focusing on the tabletop, his slightly saddened turquoise eyes closed halfway in his thoughts on the subject. Having children was something he was not sure he wanted or not, but he also did not want to disappoint her.

"I haven't exactly had the best upbringing, so I… can't say if I'd be cut out for it." He spoke, quietly. "Perhaps… someday." Meeting her violet eyes, he felt a tinge of nervousness creep into his throat as he uttered the words. "Were… you thinking about it?"

"Only this morning," She smiled lightly, dissipating the awkwardness of their conversation. "The thought surprised me, too."

Suddenly, she felt her lower abdomen writhe and pulse as she sat. Unfortunately, her pain-med had failed to kick in early. Grasping her stomach with her palm, she tried her best to feign the pain that radiated through her. The first day was always the worst, she remembered – and the least predictable. She could sense her canines growing in her closed jaws as the pain grew fierce and unbearable. If she could barely handle this pain, she was bewildered at the prospect of living through childbirth.

Perhaps she was not designed for it, after all.

"You look pained," He said, concerned. "Are you alright?"

"It… happened." She winced, an embarrassed smile on her lips.

He was not following.

"My visitor… the period."

"What happened -? O-Oh," He coughed to himself, standing up from his seat. "I should be going to the office, I'm running behind."

Surprising her, Nomasaki turned towards the porch. Her eyes widened from the feel of the chakra, she felt her heart race briefly in her chest. Warming her, the presence caused her to reveal an anticipated smile. Although not accustomed to visitors so early in the morning, this was a visitor she was glad to have seen coming.

An old friend.

"What is it?"

Looking to his curious expression, she gave a light smile. Before she had a chance to give an answer, their door was swung open abruptly – drawing in their attention from the noise. Panting slightly from her flight up the stairs and into the long corridor, Temari entered their home with a serious glint to her green eyes. In the sunlight from the large window of their kitchen, the silver emblem of her shinobi headband gleamed on her satchel. Konohagakure marked her allegiance now.

"Gaara," She said, her breaths easing as she stood straight. "I'm glad I could find you. I -,"

Catching her eye, she was confused to see her friend in their old home with him at such an early hour. Clothed in a thin simple blue robe that reached her knees, Nomasaki stood from the table with a smile as she shared eye contact with her previous jonin-partner and friend. Although she knew of their relationship, she was surprised to see it progress as fast as it did. It was unlike Gaara – then again, the fact that he was in a relationship was surprising enough.

"Nomasaki?" She raised a brow. "What are you doing here?"

"It's been a while, Temari," Nomasaki smiled with a bow of her head. "How have you been? Are you enjoying Konoha?"

Then, something clicked.

Stunned, Temari whipped her head towards her youngest brother, meeting his calm and unfazed expression while hers was still processing the scene that early morning. "Y-You're living together…?"

Nodding once, a faint line of a smile was evident on his lips.

"I take it I've come at the wrong time -,"

"No," Gaara shook his head, approaching her. "You must be tired. Please, join us."

A slight frown appeared on Temari's expression, dissipating any relief to see her sibling after such a long time. Living in Konoha was quite the adjustment, but so was becoming a kunoichi of the Land of Fire. Dealing with constant baggage from the fallout of the last war, her assignments were piling up with no clear end in sight. To make matters worse, there was the matter of the assassin who crossed their path months earlier – the one with the strange weapon that rendered her friend powerless.

"I don't have much time, actually." She sighed. "I'm on my first official mission for Konoha."

Gaara's pleasant demeanor changed into a guarded curiosity. He could tell by the mere gleam of her eyes that her arrival was not for a friendly visit. "Is that so? You seem serious."

Closing the door carefully behind her, she twisted the lock shut and stepped inside. Narrowing her eyes sternly, she paused before him, passing him a scroll from her satchel at her side. Taking the scroll, he read its contents with careful eyes, not wanting to miss a single detail. The wording was secretive – yet he understood the implications of the language they used.

It was both dire and ground-breaking.

"So that's it," He said, eyeing her as he passed the scroll back. "They found them out."

Temari nodded. "I have to present the council with this information, but I wanted to run it by you first." Placing the scroll into her pack, she began searching for something else. "I know the village is in good hands, but I ultimately trust you over our elders. Also,"

From her satchel, she pulled out the loose and broken fragments of what remained of the ginkō ore. Its substance was as shiny as it was ominous, glowing subtly despite the obvious damage that it was dealt. It was truly resilient.

Surprising him, he recognized the material from when he was in Konoha. "Is that -?"

"Shizune-sama and Sakura finished sequencing the ginkō ore sample from our scuffle during the Chunin Exams." She nodded. "They've determined exactly what the ginkō is, and apparently… it can deal some damage."

"What do you mean?" Gaara pressed. "What kind of damage?"

Her eyes locked upon him in dire seriousness. "…An explosion. It has the power to ignite -,"

"It's nature energy, isn't it?"

Catching their attention, the two siblings noticed Nomasaki walking towards them with her expression both fearful and prepared. She appeared frantic through her eyes, her violet irises unwavering from the ore that struck her months ago. Pausing beside Gaara, she watched the ore carefully as she realized her breathing became irregular. Even only a meter apart, the ginkō ore still struck her senses with an unnerving chill.

"Yeah, or so they say." Temari replied, turning towards her. "How did you figure it out?"

"My kekkei genkai…" Nomasaki answered, quietly. "It uses nature energy."

Glancing down at her spread palms with saddened eyes, her fingers lightly trembled as she stared into them. Faintly, she could see the pink lines of her scar that marked her arm from under the blue fabric of her sleeve. It almost felt as if it were pulsing. Noticing her silence, Gaara gave her a concerned look while the ginkō ore fragment in Temari's hand appeared to be glowing.

"That's how I can sense chakra… and how I can transform with Ōkamitoko." She said, looking up to her. Straightening her arms at her sides, she sharpened her glance, masking the fear that lay behind. "I had my suspicions, but… I was hoping I was wrong."

"Your scar," Gaara started, his worried eyes meeting hers beside him. "Is it still…?"

Curiously, she pulled the sleeve down from her wrist, eyeing her pulsing scar that was etched forever into her forearm. Strangely, the peculiar burning she felt the day she was attacked returned. It began to feel as if the wound's memory was fresh in her mind, the same scorching agony echoing in her instincts as if a warning. Although her wound was but a mere scar, the intruding thought worried her deeply.

"I'm… not sure…"

The scar pulsed as if her very life was being choked out of her – the ginkō glowing rapidly.

"What the…?! Urnh…!"

A force of fire suddenly erupted from under her blood, boiling under the scar that lay claim to her pale skin. Clutching her arm, she cowered as she held in a scream, her fingernails digging into her skin to the point of small crimson droplets breaking through from the punctures. Her sudden collapse to her knees alerted both Temari and Gaara to the highest degree.

Something was terribly wrong.

"Nomasaki!" Gaara turned towards her, his eyes fraught with worry. "Are you okay?"

Writhing before him, a sudden animalistic snarl escaped her breath. Letting out a wolf-like bark of her fanged jaws, she leapt backwards in a burst of powerful wind. Alerted, his sand activated into a shield before him as the air pushed him and his sister back, knocking the ginkō from Temari's hand and onto the floor. Collecting himself as the sand retreated, he scanned the room to find her.

Shocked, he saw her snarling above at them.

Clinging to the wall on all fours as if some creature from a nightmare, his once kind and fair partner had become a growling beast of distorted human features. Her eyes were slit like a canid, fangs protruding from her mouth as she snarled while her fingers dug into the wall like claws. Her face was morphing into that of a monster – just as it did that time in the council chambers. With each heavy breath she released from her lungs, she felt as if she were burning alive, her muzzle slowly taking the shape of a beast as she heaved above them.

"Don't come any closer!" She barked towards them, her voice deepening. "Stay away!"

"What's come over you?" Gaara shouted over her snarls, stepping forward with his fists balled at his sides. She truly was monstrous. "It's that ore, isn't it?"

"Don't bring it inside!" She growled, her fangs growing even larger. "Get rid of it! Now! It's burning me from the inside… I can't control… my body…!"

Shocking them, they witnessed a buldge emerge from the backend of her silk robe. From her behind, a thick white tail made its appearance, its fur coarse and feral. The more she shook with each pulse from her bloodied scar, the wolf-like she became. Soon enough, her humanoid face changed into that of a snarling beast. Her instincts fully took over, covering her porcelain skin in her familiar coat of white – only this time it was purely hostile. As her blood boiled under her irritated skin, her muscles contracted, giving way to the beast that lurked beneath her.

Her blue robe was ready to burst at the seams.

"She's going feral," Temari stammered, wide-eyed. "Is this a reaction?"

"I've never seen her like this -!" Gaara replied, stunned at the sight. "Nomasaki, stay calm!"

"I… have to get out of here!" She growled, her voice snarling. "Get back -!"

Before their very eyes, she became dominated by the beast within.

With a bark-like snarl from her jaws, she gave in to the boiling in her blood, transforming into her wolf-form as the seams of her robe burst from her growing size. With a slight thunder and the sound of shredding fabric, her clawed paws hit the floor before them while her growls broke the air between. She became a beast, her height and strength rivalling the tales of direwolves spoken in distant lands. Towering over them for a moment, the massive wolf dashed away from them in a burst of white wind, smashing through the large window at the far end of the room in a haze of shattered glass.

The silence that followed was deafening.

"What the hell just happened?!" Temari gasped, bending down towards the tattered remains of her silk robe that lay sprawled upon the floor. "She ripped through her robe! Doesn't she usually transform with her clothes?"

Making his way towards the path of shattered glass at his feet, Gaara stuck his head out the crater of a window. Peering below into the village streets, gasps and wails of panic erupted as the wolf bounded through Suna in directionless haste. She was never one to willingly frighten the villagers or seldom cause a scene. Today, she had no choice. The commotion below reminded him of his first encounter with Hanone those many years ago – and now it was her who carried the torch in that regard. Hearing their reactions below caused a stir of intense worry to come over him.

He had to find her before it was too late.

Whipping his head towards her, he gave Temari and urgent glance mired in anxiety. "Tell the council I'll summon them when I return!" He shouted. "I have to go find her!"

"G-Gaara-!"

Before she had the chance to even say his name, he leapt from the window with his sand in tow, disappearing hastily to the village streets below. Standing on her feet, she let out a dismayed grunt as she observed the gleaming shards of broken glass that littered the floor, the warm breeze of the desert entering the room with the sway of the dismembered curtains. Not only had she traveled three days alone, but the first thing she witnessed upon her return to her homeland was her friend unwillingly becoming a monster.

She felt as if she already overstayed her welcome.

"Goddammit!"

Catching her eye, she noticed the throbbing gleam of the ginkō fragment upon the floor by her feet. Picking it up, she glared at it within her hand, examining its eerie glow as its high-pitched spurts emanated from its touch. Placing it back into her pack, she decided that when Nomasaki returned, she would keep her distance.

The council would have to wait.

* * *

As the sun slowly faded beyond the sand-covered hills, time was running out.

Searching all afternoon, Gaara was unable to find her. Despite the path of destruction in her wake from the broken stalls in the market to the shaken villagers that withdrew into their homes, not a single soul knew where the white wolf vanished. Perhaps she fled the village, he thought – or returned to the mountains? No – he reminded himself, she would not go that far. Still, he was wracking his mind for places to look. A large wolf that towered over any man could not possibly be that hard to recover – even if the wolf stood out in the sands like a sore thumb. There were no wolves in the desert except her – everyone in Suna was aware of that.

Hours later, and there was still no sign of Nomasaki.

From a breeze of the desert winds, Gaara appeared in the silent alleyway with his sands. All around him he saw the remains of broken wagons, wooden carts, and a path of scattered wheat that followed the pawprints etched into the sandy earth below. The area seemed familiar to him, he thought – and then he remembered. It was the alley that was once her home, the cramped apartment where she lived since her arrival in the village those many years ago. As he looked to his right, he saw the winding stairwell that led to her front door. He saw her being bullied in that exact spot seven years ago and stepped in to deter away her adversaries – and it was at her doorstep where they parted after their first date together years later. It was a nostalgic sight to him, bittersweet in its memories.

He heard a rustle nearby.

Cautiously, he followed the path of clawed pawprints before him, leading him further into the secluded confines of the walled road. With careful eyes, he scanned the area around him, hoping for any sign she still may be close. Reaching the end of the path, he came to a dead-end near the absolute recesses of the village boundaries. Looking down, he saw that the path marked by a beast became a path of footprints mired in exhaustion. Beside each step was the faint evident of crimson droplets, following the path to where she gave up.

He found her.

Naked and huddled into the corner of where the walls met, Nomasaki was crying and shivering, grasping her legs close in efforts to stay warm as the desert air grew cool. Her skin was dirtied and bloody, glass shards appearing from the setting sun dotted along her exposed and vulnerable state. Unable to form the words, Gaara stood in shock at her fragility. It hurt him terribly to see her in such a way, as if wrenching a knife to his heart would be more desirable.

Clutching her scrapped knees tighter as she felt his presence upon her, Nomasaki buried her gold head further into her position, desperately wishing that he could not see her. Her fingernails gripped into her skin tighter, pleading silently she would wake – but it was futile. Shivering, she choked back her sobs while her spine was chilled with the cold, aching for the warmth she once had.

"Leave -," She uttered, her soft voice broken. "Please - don't look at me… I'm a monster…"

Her words resonated within him, feeling her shame all at once. He tried his best to put on a brave-face.

"Nomasaki," He said, kneeling down before her. "You know I can't do that. I'm here to help -,"

Shocked, he realized how large the glass fragments were on her body. Protruding from her were shards of clear glass stained in blood lodged within the skin of her arms and legs. The soles of her feet were covered in it. Never had he ever seen her dealt such damage. Horrifying him, he could not bring himself to look away.

"You're cut -!"

Rising her head from her scrapped shield of shame, she glanced at the glass lodged into her bicep. Her eyes were dull from her tears, the pain and trauma from the day still clearly visible within the lifeless violet that claimed them.

"I shouldn't have taken the window…" She spoke quietly. "I just… couldn't stand to be in that room any longer…"

Slowly, Gaara directed a stream of sand towards her from the gourd at his belt. Gingerly, it pulled the fragments from her body as she winced from each release, dropping the bloodied shards to the cold ground of the alleyway. Free from her protrusions, she huddled into herself as a cold chill ripped through her once more, her eyes widened from the harsh feel. Instead of the comforting cold of her homeland that she craved, it felt as if it were a merciless cold from another land that was sent to destroy her. At the same time, she felt her blood boiling beneath her skin, itching to become a wolf once more despite her body pleading not to give in. The two forces of cold and hot were fighting a ceaseless war within her, with no victor to call upon. Clutching her shoulders with her shaking palms, her dirtied blonde strands fell upon her reddened knees.

"My body… it still burns… and I feel so cold…" Her eyes swollen with tears, she looked up to meet his concerned gaze upon her. "Why is this happening to me?"

No answer arrived in his mind. Saddened, he averted his glance from hers. If he looked into her broken expression any longer, he felt as if he would be crying as well.

"…I don't know."

"I scared the villagers… They seen me like that – a beast, and they ran…" She lamented, burying her face into her knees. "All I do is lose control… I really am just a monster…"

Placing his hand upon her shoulder, he gave her a comforting glance as her eyes looked up to meet his. "You're not a monster - you're _you_. Wolf or not, you're Nomasaki and you always will be."

In her shivering state, her eyes glistened with forming tears as she felt her heart swell within her exposed chest. Although his words were kind and comforting, she could not bring herself to be convinced they were true in that moment. The faces of fear from the villagers were too recent in her thoughts to agree – and she was all too familiar with fear.

Opening the buttons from his burgundy shirt, he removed it from his back and passed it to her. "Here," He insisted. "Since you ripped yours."

Surprised by his gesture, she looked at his shirt and its fine fabric, then back to him. Sitting before her and holding out his clothing for her to take, his bare skin drew her attention. The winds were getting colder as the night of the desert lands approached, and he was sacrificing his scarce warmth for her. She felt as if she could start weeping again, but at least for a different reason.

Taking the shirt from his warm hands with a trembling grasp, she placed his shirt over her shoulders. It was too big for her petite stature, but that made it all the more suitable. It covered her as if a coat. It even smelled of him, comforting her even more as she felt the warmth from its eloquently stitched seams. Her delicate fingers trembling upon it as she held it closed over her breasts, she lowered her head in shame once more as she felt her sobs rise into her throat.

"Gaara," She wept, silently. "I'm sorry…"

"I know," He nodded, shutting his eyes tightly as he held her in his arms. "I know…"

Her shivers chilled through him, causing him to hold her closer as the desert air turned cold…


	59. Against All Odds

_**Author's note (2020/04/03):**_ Hey, anyone who is reading this - thanks for making it this far! I certainly didn't anticipate this story going over 150,000~ words and now here we are at over 225,000! This is the longest work I've ever written by far and the slowest burn (it's as slow as molasses, i swear lol).

I am currently isolated due to the quarantine for COVID-19 so you can expect me to actually finish this story (and stop editing earlier chapters because it's almost done - yay!). I think it will end now at 70 chapters, possibly 72 - we will see when we get there.

Just a quick notice that I added two new chapters at the start of the story's Part II segment (Chapters 13 and 14, and i updated 15 to fix the flow).

Stay safe and stay home, we can make it through these difficult times! Thanks for reading xx

* * *

 **Chapter 59  
** **Against All Odds**

* * *

By the time they made it back towards their home, nightfall had already approached…

A brisk draft filled their residence that night, sneaking through the crevices between the hastily placed boards over the broken window's frame. The damage to the window dealt from the wolf appalled and stunned the housekeepers who managed the estate, disgruntling them as they scrambled to repair what was destroyed before the day's end approach. The rest of the repairs would have to wait until the morning.

Near asleep on the couch, Temari rose when she heard the door creak open. Stepping through the doorway her widened green eyes saw the shadows of her younger brother and his partner emerge into the lamplight. Hours later, the Kazekage had finally returned with Nomasaki in one piece. Drawing her attention, she noticed something was very off about them. Standing close beside her brother, Nomasaki's eyes were dulled in shame as she stood trembling upon the cold floor, her only shield of her nakedness being his shirt that she covered herself with.

She appeared broken.

"You're back -," Temari said, shocked by the sight. "Nomasaki -!"

Walking towards her, Gaara paused, his eyes worn and tired. "I'm drawing her a bath before I see the council," He spoke, his voice low. "Can you stay with her, for me? I don't want her to be left alone…"

Glancing to her friend, she saw that Nomasaki's gaze was painstakingly locked towards the floor. The violet in her eyes was strained, its vibrance mired in her inner strife. Not once in the seven years that Temari had known her had she seen her in such a state. Her once well-put-together friend and comrade was dirtied, naked, and trembling. She wondered if there was anything she could offer her, but she knew that her friendship would be a reasonable support.

Keeping her calm would be the best option.

Turning back to face Gaara, she was surprised by the tone she saw within his ringed-eyes. Their usual stoic appearance was tinted with exhausted emotion, any essence of calm replaced by saddened empathy and pleading. The way he glanced towards his sister indicated his internal plea for a peaceful night. It worried her.

"Alright," She nodded. "I'll be here as long as you need me."

Relieved, he gave a subtle nod, his messy head of crimson falling slightly. As he started for the hallway and disappeared from their view, Nomasaki watched the muscles shift on his back as he left, her chest light and shaking. Bringing herself to sit beside her friend on the couch of the living room, she trembled as she rested upon the warm cushions beneath. Even in the calm silence, her knees and hands still shivered from the cold that invaded her. The draft to their backs was not helping either.

While Temari waited for her to speak, Nomasaki averted her glance, her pain-stricken eyes locked upon her shivering lap of pale skin. "I'm sorry, Temari…" She spoke, her lips quivering in silence. "For what happened…"

"About what?" Temari turned, meeting the dulled glow of her gold strands. "The window?" Giving a light smile, she tried to dissipate the sadness she sensed from her friend beside her, pushing aside the memory of the large white beast that shattered the glass. "It's not my window anymore. The housekeepers have to worry about that -,"

"What I did earlier… I didn't mean to lash out like I did…" Nomasaki whispered, hanging her head low. "I didn't see you since Naruto's wedding and this is how you come home… you see me thrashing about like some sort of… beast…"

"Don't worry about it,"

Surprised, Nomasaki looked up to meet her calming green eyes. A sly smile curving on her lips, Temari let out a small laugh in her approaching drowsiness.

"I've seen worse, believe me," She smiled comfortingly. "Gaara would decimate houses if Shukaku emerged! A window from an overwhelmed wolf is nothing." Her eyes becoming concerned, her smile faded. "You're feeling better, aren't you?"

Glancing down at her scratched fingers spread before her, Nomasaki's dulled eyes examined the cracked skin that clung to them. She could feel her bones shiver underneath the pale skin of her frail hands, any trace of warmth abruptly leaving as the draft behind filled the room. Although summer was days away, the cold desert nights still grasped the to the winds. Strangely, her pink scar on her forearm had not pained, but from the mere sight of it she could feel a faint pulse from the chills that pounded through her.

"Somewhat, I'm… not sure." Hiding her shivering hands into the burgundy clothing that covered her, she gazed ahead towards the bookshelf on the other side of the room. "Temari, can I… ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Do you ever… get homesick? Since you moved to Konoha, I mean."

"Homesick? I suppose so," Temari replied, sighing as she relaxed on the couch. "I more so miss the family and friends I left behind, not the lifeless void of desert. Konoha is growing on me, surprisingly. Seeing trees is a lot more breathtaking than seeing nothing but sand."

"I see…" Nomasaki spoke, her voice quiet as her gaze drifted to her lap. "Homesick…"

Sorrow began to enter the glint of her drained eyes, her thoughts remembering the white lands that she dreamed of every night. The cold that chilled her only made the void in her heart stronger, yearning to be in her mountains of snow once more. Perhaps leaving Yamagakure had been a mistake, she thought. If she stayed with her father and her scattered clan, she may have avoided her current strife altogether. Then she remembered – she stayed for _him_. It was love why she chose she remain in the desert village, and she felt the happiest she ever had in her life. But with the sacrifice came the burdens, not just for her – but for him as well.

Should she have chosen duty instead?

"That's why I…"

Her voice trailed, unable to form the words at her lips. She could feel the building sorrow swell into her throat, her dried eyes sensing the tears that were forming, prepared to weep once more. She could not keep it at bay any longer as the memories of the snow and frost she craved entered her mind in a faint calm. Her scar on her arm relished in the sentiment.

"Why do you ask?" Temari asked her, noticing her silence. "Something on your mind?"

Averting her eyes, Nomasaki kept her gaze upon the floor while a chill traveled down her spine. "No reason… it's just… -,"

Startling her, she saw the glint of Gaara's eyes appear from the hallway. His face was slate-like and his eyes drained. Insomnia was marked within his gaze. After sharing a worried glance with Temari, Nomasaki slowly stood from her seat and walked towards him. What unnerved her the most was not his dulled eyes but the fact that she had not sensed his chakra at all since he appeared.

Her and her senses were once again separated.

* * *

From the turn of the tap, the pipes heaved behind the walls.

As the hot water poured from the faucet into the bath, he examined it carefully. Steam enveloping the room, Gaara pulled up his sleeves, feeling the rising temperature with his fingers while he watched the water fill the aged cast iron tub. The water was near scalding to the touch. Sitting at the far side of the room, Nomasaki sat against the wall in a thick white towel, hoping that the incessant cold would leave her. Guilt painted her eyes as she watched him inspect the temperature thoroughly. His expression could not be clearly seen from where she sat, but she knew it was just as emotionally exhausted as hers.

The day was not kind to either of them.

As the final droplets of warmth fell from the spout, he carefully guided her shaky steps to the tub from the comfort of the towel wrapped around her. He had not uttered a single word to her, but his tired eyes conveyed everything. Even in his protective grasp, her fingers still trembled from the chills that passed through her. His warmth was nothing compared to the cold that gnawed at her from within, that was certain. Falling from her scarred back, the towel pooled behind her on the damp tiled floor as she stepped into the bastion of hot water.

A wince escaping her lips, she felt the steaming liquid make its way into every wound from her legs to her shoulders as she retreated into its scalding hollow. Her broken skin burned from the sensation, instantly being numbed as the heat from the water enveloped her. Clinging to her like a veil, the heat hovered around her and thawed the cold that tinged her insides, melting it away.

Watching her closely, Gaara sat silent on the edge of the tub. He could see the pain still present in her eyes, and its lilac gleam was dulled with guilt. He knew the feeling. Never had he seen her so helpless and he could not bring himself to leave her side. Not now. However, the reminder that the council were waiting for him gnawed at his thoughts – and he was late. He hoped that the bath would at least bring her some relief until he could return.

Standing, he tried his best to feign a light smile. "The bath should be good, it's hot but it should help warm you up." He said, catching the glimpse of her violet eyes. "I'll be back soon." Upon seeing her fractured expression, he paused. "What is it?"

Touched by his gesture, she averted her eyes from him. Her mind was painted in the thoughts and memories of the snow of Yama, the void she felt from her wolf-side being torn from her, and the inner conflict of love and duty quarreling in her psyche. His kindness towards her during the ordeal only made her guilt worse. Despite seeing her in such a monstrous state, he still went out of his way to comfort her as he did. He sacrificed so much for her – the blind faith of his council, the honor of his ancient and powerful clan, and his desire for a simple life. All she offered as compensation was herself – and she felt as if it were not an even trade. The sadness she pushed down into her chest was rising once again, swelling into her throat as her eyes grew heavy with tears.

It was no use to keep hiding them anymore.

"Gaara… -," She sobbed silently in the bath. "I… I'm sorry…"

One by one, her tears struck the hot water as she cupped her face with her palms. Her body shook as she did so, her fragility exposed to him as it was earlier. Seeing her that way caused his heart to sink in his chest. Having only seen her cry a few times since knowing her, this time was by far the worst – and most dire. He could feel every ounce of hurt that cracked through her muffled weeping, striking him with the raw emotion that cut through her voice.

It scared him to see her that way, propelling him to protect her at all costs.

In the midst of her sobs, he carefully wrapped his arms around her. His fingers intertwined with her golden strands, his head of thick crimson rested against hers of dulled gold as he held her close. Closing his eyes while he touched the broken skin of her damp shoulders, he begged internally for a moment of silence, sensing the rising sobs within him approaching closer.

"No," He said, quietly. "Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong."

Comfortingly, his hand strayed to the back of her gold head, gently soothing the wet strands that danced around his fingers. The other hand was at her scarred back, pressed lightly into her bare skin as his protective grasp became tighter. Even still, her body still shuddered from her silent crying while she was in his arms.

"I'll always be there to protect you, I promise…"

* * *

The chamber was heavily guarded by the silent ANBU that night.

Sitting before the stern-faced councilmen, Gaara and Temari listened carefully to their questions and words of warning. The shadows of the past Kazekage loomed over them as the dark of midnight approached, their statues burgeoning and silent. Narrowing his tired eyes, Zarō folded his hands on the table's worn surface.

"I see," He said. "And the Konoha shinobi were able to decipher this substance?"

"Yes," Temari nodded, sternly. "I've received word first-hand from Shizune-sama and Haruno Sakura. Tsunade-sama also confirmed through messenger hawk." Pushing the scroll across the table, the elder grasped it, pulling it towards him in exchange. "This is the scroll containing all of the knowledge they've gathered. I've been instructed to make sure it ends up in the right hands, within the Sunagakure Intel Division and ANBU."

With an aged smirk after briefly viewing its contents, Zarō gave a subtle nod. "You may have rescinded your allegiance to Suna, but even now you're proving to be quite a valuable asset. Thank you, Temari-sama."

"Also,"

From her satchel, Gaara watched from the corner of his eye as she placed the faintly glowing ginkō ore onto the table for all to see. Its menacing aura astounded the council, striking their curiosity instantly.

"This is the substance in question," She finished. "Ginkō ore, a rare material from the Land of Claws. It may look like nothing, but it's highly dangerous and can be used as a weapon."

Disturbed by the ore, one of the elder councilmen turned towards Gaara, who sat silently with eyes irked by the sight of the glowing shard. "Kazekage-sama, are you certain of your conclusions from this… ore?"

"Yes." Gaara nodded, directing his stoic glance towards him. "I am."

Eyeing the rest of the council, a stern expression washed over him, masking any concern or uncertainty that lay hidden in his ringed-eyes. Attentively, the council listened as they watched their leader stand from his council seat at the front of the table. A brisk silence entered the chamber as he did so, the tension weighing heavily upon his shoulders.

"We recently faced a tragedy within our lands, regarding the incident at the Sunagakure Prison," He began. "We lost many lives due to an unidentified explosion… and the puppet corps is still dealing with the recovery of the fallen…-," Directing his glance towards the ore, he narrowed his eyes. "The substance here before you all was the same material found amongst the rubble, and it was also the weapon that injured Yamamori Nomasaki during Tenbu's attack in Konoha during the Chunin Exams. The ginkō ore contains nature energy, as described in the scroll's contents. It produces an adverse effect when in contact with those who use nature energy… and can be manipulated into producing a blast."

"With all due respect," Baki entered, his dark eyes narrowed. "What are you suggesting, Kazekage-sama?"

"This material is essentially an explosive," Gaara answered, turning to him. "Therefore, if Tenbu has such a weapon at their disposal, we must eradicate it before those terrorists can use it against us." With a serious tone to his eyes, he looked back towards the council. "The previous Fifth Hokage mentioned a mine in the Land of Claws that may be the only rumored reserve of ginkō… I propose we send scouts to that location, and destroy it."

"How can we be certain it exists?" A councilman stammered, appalled. "Do we know for certain its within that country?"

"All the more reason to be searching for it." Temari spoke, drawing their attention. "Sunagakure is on peaceful terms with the chieftain of Ishigakure, and their daimyo wants Tenbu destroyed as much as we do. If anything, it would serve to benefit two lands if we acted now – the Land of Wind and the Land of Claws."

Grateful for her speaking out, Gaara nodded in agreement. "This hidden mine could be the key to undoing Tenbu once and for all… and as Kazekage, I intend on destroying them," He said, facing their stern expressions as he stood. "The crimes they've committed against Suna put the very existence of our village in danger… and I'll see to it that they are put to rest."

"How soon do you intend on going through with this?" Zarō asked. "It would take time to organize -,"

"In three days' time." Gaara replied shortly. "We will be swift and resilient."

"What?!" A councilmen sneered, taken aback. "That won't nearly be enough time to -!?"

Turning to the elder, Gaara gave a serious-eyed glance. "We don't exactly have a choice." He said, meeting his disgruntled gaze. "While we sit here mulling over decisions, Tenbu lies in wait. We have to act swiftly to deal with this threat, or else we'll be in for another war."

"A war? Would Tenbu be bold enough to even think of such a thing?"

"They could, who knows. They seem to have a vendetta against our lands and will stop at nothing. I wouldn't put it past them."

"Very well." Zarō sighed, meeting the stoic gaze of the Kazekage across from him. "We'll send word to the ANBU and the Suna Tracking Unit, surely they can meet our demands in time."

"I'll send a messenger to Moro-sama," The younger councillor joined in. "I'll have him know it's urgent."

Watching the man rise from his seat with a subtle bow, Gaara's eyes followed him as he left the room. The time has finally come to deal with Tenbu – and it was long overdue. Shortly, he would be able to sleep soundly, he thought – knowing that the organization would no longer be threatening his home or loved ones. Insomnia gnawing at his mind, he felt his heavy eyes plead for sleep. At last, the meeting was over. Before he had the chance to adjourn, the grunt of an elder caught his attention.

"What's more… Moro-sama's right-hand has certainly caused a ruckus this afternoon."

Meeting the elder's narrowed glare, Gaara felt his body tense at the mention.

"She ran through the streets as a wolf blind by feral rage," The elder sighed. "Terrifying the villagers and instilling a panic. It was almost reminiscent to when Shukaku was still a thorn in our sides, only without the bloodlust. It was certainly unexpected from her, knowing her position within the tracking unit."

"Should we press charges?" Another elder joined in, curious. "She ravaged a market area."

"That won't be necessary," Gaara objected, his expression stoic. "It was an isolated incident, it won't happen again – I assure you."

Sensing a hidden shame, Zarō gave the young Kazekage a sympathetic glance from his dark eyes. Remembering the sight of the shifting woman only months ago, the memory was burned into his thoughts as he was reminded of her snarling muzzle and loss of control. Although her record of service to Commander Moro had her in high regard, he wondered when he would hear of another incident where she became unhinged. Having her be a shinobi of such a rank could become a gamble – especially if her blood was to be mixed with the Kazekage clan someday. Once again, he was willing to put his trust in the Kazekage to keep his word.

"Kazekage-sama, as we're aware of your relationship with the Yamamori woman," He began, his voice calm. "Can we trust in you to make sure this doesn't happen again?"

Gaara turned towards him, his once serious gaze mired in guilt. "It was an accident. She didn't mean to act the way she did."

"How so?" Zarō questioned. "Do you mean to tell us something caused this?"

"It was the ore," Gaara answered, glancing towards the eerie glowing material. "Being in contact with the ginkō shard caused her to transform… because of her scar. She would never deliberately try to frighten the villagers, I can promise you that."

Sitting beside him, Temari gave him a glance toned in empathy, understanding the toll the day had placed on both of them. While the meeting was adjourned and the councillors emptied from the chamber, Gaara hoped that Nomasaki would be asleep in their shared bed by the time he returned.

Craving an end to his recurrent insomnia…

* * *

"Are you sure you must leave?" Gaara asked. "You only just arrived, you could stay in the guest room."

A light smile of assurance visible in the darkened hall, Temari nodded. "I should be on my way. Hokage-sama's orders, I'm sure you understand."

That was what troubled him. He did understand - but he wanted not to. Just briefly he wanted to forget about the events that befell them, Tenbu who were waiting to strike, and the tears he seen fall from his lover's drained face. All he wanted was a day's peace, but it was out of his hands. Not even Kankuro was around to brighten the mood, his squadron still dispatched to the Demon Desert as they collected the scattered bodies of the dead. All he had for company was his troubling thoughts and his restless mind.

"When will you return next?"

"Not sure," She answered low. "But when I do, I hope it's under different circumstances."

Giving a tired nod of his shaggy head of auburn, he bid her farewell. "Safe travels to you, then. Temari."

Noting his drained gaze upon her, she nodded back. Her green eyes visible in the dimmed corridor, her expression was concerned and sympathetic towards him. It seemed as though as soon as she left, things have taken a turn for the worst - or were just beginning to do so. Being a Kage was already a heavy burden, but what waited for him inside the door behind him was an even more daunting struggle. Taming a beast - a beast that was being hunted from the dark. For a moment, she thought of her late father before taking her leave, wondering if the burden of controlling such a beast broke him as well. Gaara's eyes were no different than Rasa's that night. Both of them were tired beyond their years.

"Goodnight, Gaara."

Watching her march silently down the guarded corridor stiffened him. As quickly as his sister arrived, she was gone. Her new home of Konoha beckoned her, but her allegiance remained loyal to her place of birth. If he had convinced her to stay, it would have brought upon him a peace of mind. Braving his approaching night of insomnia, he stepped inside the doorway and retired. Locking it behind him and removing his shoes, he started for the hallway only to be paused in his steps.

Surprised, his ringed-eyes looked on with hurt at what he saw.

Sitting silently at the table with her knees up to her chin as she sat on the aged wooden chair, Nomasaki pulled the needle through the fabric slowly. He could not see her face, only the long gold hair and glimpse of her dulled nightdress. She appeared to be sewing together the ripped cloths of her robe she tore earlier that day. The fabric was beyond repair and should have been discarded, but her stubborn mind clung to hope that she could fix it. What saddened him more was the fact that she did not even notice him enter their home at all, not even a stir.

Approaching her carefully, she paused her nimble hand as she heard his footsteps upon the floor. Lifting her head from her knees, she did not turn to face him. Shuffling silently, she relaxed her position and let her feet touch the cool floor. It was past midnight, sleep drifting through her mind one breath at a time. Her senses did not even tell her he was close, his chakra undetectable to her from how near he was to her. Unlike the last time, nothing lingered. Her sense was gone entirely. Under her cold skin, her wolf's blood did not dare to boil as it once did, staying silent for the first time since she was a child.

The wolf was slain.

"Where's Temari?" She spoke, her voice quiet and empty. "Did she...?"

Nodding tiredly, he pulled out the chair across from her and took his seat. "Yeah. She returned to Konoha."

"I see," She sighed, glancing down at the fabric laid out before her with saddened eyes. "I... hope she has a safe journey back."

"You don't have to, Nomasaki. We can get you another."

Looking at the blue and gold material of the torn robe before her, she felt her gut twist. "This was my favorite one..."

As he looked into her dulled eyes of lilac, something struck him that night. It were as if the life left her body, along with its warmth and vibrance. She seemed cold despite the lack of a shiver, and her pale hands continued to push the threaded needle through the blue cloth at its broken seams. What happened to her, he thought - watching her sew the robe with drained eyes. She sat before him as if she were a ghost - a ghost with dulled gold hair and empty eyes of a dead spring. It was Tenbu's doing, he reminded himself - and he wanted to kill every single one of them for what he saw seated across from him that night.

"Gaara,"

Lifting his head from his averted glance, he saw her eyes gleam with tears in the scarce candlelight that surrounded them.

"What's wrong?" He asked, noticing her pause on the thread. "Are you cold again?"

Placing her hands at her lap, she closed her eyes and shook her head. Perplexed by her wordless answer, he rose a nonexistent brow. Clutching the fabric of her nightgown, she balled it in her fingers as a tremble swept through her. "I... am a wolf no more," She confessed, lowering her head as the strands of gold curtained her expression. "I'm broken... I can't even sense your chakra as you sit so close to me... Nothing. Not even my skin begs to change..."

Refusing to cry any longer, her closed eyes tightened, her back shivering in held emotion.

"The snow in my blood has melted away! I am nothing but a miserable pile of bones... a human." Her throat choked back the sobs. "My ancestors should curse me for my foolishness... It was my fault. I allowed myself to get hurt in the first place..."

"It's not your fault," Gaara said, his eyes firm. "It's no one to blame but Tenbu. They're the ones who did this - not you."

"Yes, but -," She breathed, bringing herself to look him in the eyes. "There was a time where... I wished to be fully human. Perhaps karma served me..."

She remembered the day well. She was a child of the mountains then, lost amongst the snows as she fled to the meadow to cry. Her mother was alive then, she recalled - and later found her curled up within a bed of snow lilies. The tears were near frozen to her flushed cheeks, muttering over and over again _"I will not be a wolf, I'm not a wolf"_ until her mother scooped her up in her arms and took her home, warming beside the great hearth upon her caring lap. The children who bullied her that day shouted cruel things to her, terrible things. Every word pierced her like ice, with her wanting nothing more than to have a different clan name to call her own. Not once had she wanted to be a normal human so desperately - wanting to be whatever human her unknown father was.

"I shouldn't have said those things..." She lamented to herself. "And now there's nothing I want more than...-,"

Her words stopped as she felt his hand touch hers. It was so warm and comforting, soothing the cold that lingered upon her lap. Rising to meet his eyes, his expression was gravely empathetic. He appeared as if the sorrow struck him as well, just as he looked while he watched her cry in the bath. But she was not crying now, albeit forcing herself to hide it.

"Against all odds," He began, his tone strong. "You're of the snow and sand. You will always be a wolf, _you will always be you_."

Surprised, her glistening eyes of violet looked into him through the scarce moonlight that entered. She saw sincerity in his ringed-eyes, clear enough for her to see in the surrounding darkness. She felt so fragile in that moment, so vulnerable. Her fluttering humanity almost grew hopeful, his warm touch soothing her troubled mind.

"This will pass, I know it will. I will try as much as I can to help... if there's anything I can do."

Placing her palm over his, she smiled warmly. "Thank you... but I'm not even sure what _I_ can do at this point." She sighed. "Perhaps I just have to accept it."

She was lying to herself and she knew it. There was no way she could possibly accept the fate thrust upon her. Pondering to herself in silence, she wondered if she should arrange to see her father again. The shrine of her clan would be good company, and maybe it would listen to her pleas for normalcy.

She could only keep her hopes to herself...


	60. Fate

**_Author's Note (2020/04/09):_ **Hey everyone - I hope you are all doing well with the current global situation! I am still in quarantine and it looks like it will be for a while. I am trying to my best to get through it, dealing with my mental health is proving difficult as of late but I am trying to surround myself with positive thoughts.

As for this chapter, I will try to post regularly once a week until this story is finished - but upon doing my upcoming drafts, I have struck an iron-strong writer's block. This chapter is also the most dialogue-heavy chapter I've written thus far so I apologize for a lack of action and other ninja things.

Stay safe everyone! xx

* * *

 **Chapter 60  
** **Fate**

* * *

The scorching rays of the desert sun shone brightly that day.

Summer had finally made its appearance in the dry lands surrounding Suna, the heat signifying the change in season. Outside the village cliffs, sandstorms bellowed and the winds howled restlessly. The cold desert nights were becoming scarce, only to return when autumn would make its next approach. Stepping out from the shelter of the Kazekage's estate and its towering walls, Nomasaki ventured out alone. Her eyes dulled and tired after her bleed left her, she emerged from the shadows a shell of her former self. Hoping that a stroll through the village would clear her foggy head, she also dreaded the thought of facing the villagers who saw her in her vapid beastly state days before. She had to make amends somehow, or at the very least apologize. Knowing that Gaara was cooped up inside his office assured her. She needed some time alone to think, and he was often a distraction, albeit a comforting one.

Making her way through the guarded path, she heard the footsteps of someone coming closer from behind. Pausing with her expression guarded and back tense, she turned towards them, meeting the faceless shinobi concealed by a cloth veil. A Suna ANBU – a man, and a quiet one at that – she thought, relaxing her arms at her sides. Her lilac eyes narrowed in caution, she glanced at their cloth-shroud. She could tell just by his glance where his darkened eyes lay hidden, their gleam unseen by her in the sunlight.

The fact that she could not see their face filled her with unease and forgotten paranoia.

"Who might you be?" She demanded. "If you're an ANBU, shouldn't you be standing guard?"

Kneeling before her, the ANBU bowed his turban-covered head to her. She could see the sheathed gleam of his katana at his back, reminding herself that she was without a weapon. Remembering his allegiance, she tried to remind herself that he was an ally – not of Kenzō's. Her stressed mind was hard to convince.

"Nomasaki-sama," He said, his voice warm and calm. "By the instruction of Kazekage-sama, I am to guard you while you journey outside the estate."

His voice struck her as familiar.

"Is that so?" She questioned, her gaze easing. "And if I don't require an escort?"

"My apologies," He answered, lifting his head as he met her drained eyes. "Gaara-sama made it very clear to not let you out of our sights at all times. His orders, my lady."

The formality struck her.

She was not used to the title, nor did she enjoy it. She was not a lady – not an honorable one, at least. She was a shinobi carrying the bloodline of her ancient and scarce clan, not even descended from the main branch. All she knew of her ancestry was the faint stories she remembered from her mother, and the 'lady' title did not fit anywhere. Even as the partner of the Kazekage, one who was born of noble blood, she did not deserve that title in her eyes. She was just Nomasaki, and that was all she knew.

"Forgive me," She began. "But I'm no lady. I don't require a title."

"Your father is the chieftain of Yamagakure, my lady - and you are Gaara-sama's partner. It's common courtesy to address you as such, I'm afraid."

 _There it was_ , she thought.

"Did he - Kazekage-sama - give a reason why I'm to be escorted?" She asked. "Any at all?"

"All intel is confidential. Sorry, but you must understand."

Standing before the guise of the ANBU made her look upon him in silent understanding. His tone was sympathetic towards her, as if he also felt the sentiment was overkill. Gaara had a tendency to be overprotective at times despite his awareness of her skill, but she understood that enemies could be marching towards their gates at any moment. The times were not to be taken lightly.

"Very well, then." She nodded, watching him stand. "I… guess I have no choice, do I?"

Turning away from him, she proceeded down the narrow path shielded by the clay walls of the buildings that towered over them. Entering the village ahead of her, she disappeared into the sea of people with the ANBU following her closely behind.

It was going to be a long day, she thought.

* * *

Avoiding the noise, she entered the recluse shadows of the alley.

Reaching a quiet street guarded by towering clay structures, the vibrant reds and golds painted upon them seemed to have melted away from the sun. Glancing towards him from the corner of her eye, her absent senses struck her for a moment. The air of familiarity returned as she saw the glint of his dark eyes, noticing the hint of brown laced within them. Although she had not been able to sense chakra since her wolf-driven rampage, she felt as if she knew him from somewhere close – in a memory.

"You're young for an ANBU," She began. "Have we met before?" Timidly, she turned away, second-guessing herself. "Sorry, it's just that… your chakra seems familiar."

"I sure hope so," He said. "We were on the same team once!"

Pausing in his steps, the ANBU reached for the cloth that covered his face. Drawing her curiosity instantly, she stopped as well, watching him carefully as they stood across from another in the silent alleyway. She could feel her heart pound in her chest from his words, pleading internally that her suspicions were true. Pulling down his veil towards his chin, the young man gave her a warm smile.

Black hair, dark eyes, and his cocky grin.

Shinto.

"Nomasaki,"

Hearing him say her name filled her with relief.

"Shinto!" She beamed, wrapping her arms around him instantly. "It's you!"

Surprised by her gesture, he quickly returned the favor. Holding her close, he took her in. It had been years since he last seen her himself, only hearing of her from the mouths of others. She felt the same to him, her comforting kindness warming him instantly.

Releasing him from her hug, she smiled softly. "I knew it was you -!"

"Shh -!" He hushed. "You _can't_ know it's me, it'll blow my cover -!"

"S-Sorry," She nodded, averting her embarrassed glance. "I… haven't been on a mission with the tracking unit for a while, so I forgot."

Looking at her from where he stood, he smiled at her timid expression. Clothed in her simple blue kimono, he realized how much he missed her. Her soft features struck by the scattered sunlight, he could see each fiber of gold that laced her long hair and the vibrance that returned to her violet eyes.

"You're still the same timid-scatterbrained kunoichi, I see." He smiled back. A thought entering his mind, he jolted – his expression becoming urgent and worried. "Wait a minute – your sensory skills… how did you not recognize me at first?"

His startled expression jolted her, her joy slowly fading from her eyes. The dullness in them returned again, remembering her recent struggles that were left unsaid. Hanging her head low in shame, she held her hands into the fabric of her chest.

"Oh, well… I…-," She said, her voice low and broken. "I… lost my powers…"

"Lost your powers?! Your kekkei genkai?"

Meeting his concerned glance, she nodded.

"How?"

"Ask Tenbu," She replied dryly. "They used some sort of ore on me when they attacked in Konoha… I've never been the same since."

Looking down at her spread fingers before her, she examined them with saddened eyes. Unlike the last time, her fingers refused to tremble, although the familiar sense of the chakra around her was no longer within her grasp. Not even the wolfishness that lurked beneath her blood dared to boil. She felt fully human and completely empty.

"Sometimes I can sense things, and other times… I can't. I… haven't been able to sense chakra, and I can't even control my Ōkamitoko…"

"So that wolf that ran through the village," Shinto pressed. "That was you, wasn't it?"

"Yeah…" She nodded, bringing herself to face his glance. "I mean, I'm the only Yamamori in the village. Who else would it be?"

Her answer broke him.

He knew how much she loved to be a wolf, to shift her skin and be free of her human constraints as the creature coated of white fur. It was second nature to her, and it had been completely stripped from her being. The exhausted tint to her lilac eyes conveyed every ounce of regret she held within her.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you," He lamented, averting his gaze to the ground below. Concerned, he met her eyes once more. "Does Meiyumi know? You know, she worries about you. A lot, actually."

"She may, but I didn't tell her myself." She replied, quietly. "She doesn't need to know, no one does -,"

Surprising her, Shinto placed his strong hands upon her shoulders. His expression was both stern and pleading all at once, catching her off guard from her self-pity. His intense grasp of her shoulders made her heart jump in her chest, her eyes widened into his.

" _Your friends do!"_ He said. "We worry about you, Nomasaki. You know you can tell us anything. Once Team Hashira… _always_ Team Hashira!"

Letting go of her, he watched as she averted her gaze from his. The warmth from his words swelling into her throat, she could feel the oncoming sobs rise within her. She knew her mistakes, and she had to inevitably greet them. It had been years since they were once a team, but their forged friendship was something that would last a lifetime.

"Thanks, Shinto." She cried, silently. "I'm… sorry."

"No, no – stop," He stammered, awkwardly. "Please don't cry, Nomasaki! I'm sorry – I didn't mean to -,"

"No, you're right." She smiled, wiping away her tears with her sleeve. "I've been neglecting my friendships, including those with you and Meiyumi. I'm sorry… I should've reached out to you both." Biting her lip, she averted her glance in shame. "I was… scared that you hated me…"

"Hate you?" He sighed, smirking. "Never! I thought you hated me, joining the ANBU - your rival faction." Pondering to himself, he placed his hand under his chin. "Now that you mention it, Meiyumi has been trying to organize a night out… maybe we should take her up on her offer?"

"I would like that very much!" She nodded, smiling softly. "Maybe once this all blows over."

"Would your _boyfriend_ allow it?"

His tone suddenly changed.

Taken aback by his icy voice, her smile faded from her lips. Her eyes looked upon him stunned, her fear of his hatred entering her thoughts as she noticed he averted his narrowed eyes from hers. He knew, she thought – he knew _everything_.

"Don't look so surprised - the whole village knows, Nomasaki." He turned towards her. "You've been with the Kazekage for months."

"Well… he worries about me, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind. I don't have to ask permission to see my own friends."

"You seemed upset to have an ANBU following you earlier," He retorted. "Are you sure about that? Or are you trying to convince yourself otherwise?"

His stab at her caught her off guard.

Reflecting to herself, she had to admit – he was right. Gaara was very kind and loving towards her, but he was also stern and overprotective at times. Especially since he returned from meeting that messenger in the oasis, something seemed to linger behind his thoughts, causing him to have many restless nights from his recurrent insomnia. She understood his worry greatly – she would have felt the same. But upon asking what troubled him, he would hastily change the subject or tell her to sleep. Dancing around it in her mind, she tried to feign a light smile.

"Tenbu is an active threat," She spoke. "He's worried they'll attack me again. He may be overreacting at times, but he cares about me." Looking to her side with her eyes narrowed slightly, she whispered to herself. "I'll admit, he should trust in me more…"

"Are you…? Never mind, forget it."

"What is it?" She asked, eased by his warm tone returning. "You can ask me."

Guilt setting into his eyes, Shinto glanced away from her, his eyes closed halfway as if in sadness and concern. "Are you… happy? With him, I mean."

Surprising her, she gave a warm smile from her lips. Never had he inquired about her love-life, but she could understand why he was suddenly bashful to ask the question. He worried about her, just as any friend would.

"Yes, I am." She nodded. "He's misunderstood, but he's very kind. He loves me through everything… and I love him. I've never been happier."

"Really?" He asked, rising his glance upon her. "Even knowing that he was once a bloodthirsty killer?"

"He's not that anymore," She answered, her eyes guilty. "That was in his past,"

He was twisting her moral compass with his words, leaving her to push those disturbing thoughts and images of Gaara's reputation away. The monster he once was lurked within her psyche, remembering it through the whispers of the frightened villagers when she first arrived in Sunagakure. It saddened her greatly to think of him that way, and Shinto could see it plainly upon her face.

"You and I both know he's changed since then… I didn't even know him when he was like that, Shinto -,"

"But you _know_ he was once. Are you able to look past that?"

The icy tone returned.

"I have to," She confessed, averting her saddened gaze. "That's what love is, looking past mistakes and faults." Turning back to him, she felt guilt swell into her chest. "Are you forgetting that I was once a spy for Kenzō? Gaara forgave me for that – he pardoned me -,"

"I just want to make sure you're making the right choice, for you – not anyone else." He revealed. "I know you, Nomasaki. You see the good in everyone… I just hope that you're being true to yourself, and not pretending for the sake of him."

"Shinto, I know you hold a great deal of hatred towards Gaara, but please –," She pleaded, stepping towards him in the alley. "I love him! I always have, so please… as my friend, can you accept that?"

As she approached before the setting sun, Shinto stepped away. His back facing her, he closed his eyes. "He killed my parents." He spat through his grit teeth. "I was six, I didn't even know what death was until that night. Shukaku rampaged for hours before the Fourth Kazekage could stop him… it was too late…" Opening his dark eyes, he looked upon the sand covered ground in spite. "I'll never forgive him for that. Surely even you must be able to understand."

She could feel the bitter brunt of his words, lodging in her as if a rusted blade of hatred. Feeling his pain, she lowered her head in empathy. "I'm sorry…" Looking up to him, she timidly approached him once more. "If I can ask… Despite your contempt, why do you choose to serve him?"

"I'm a dog of the Suna ANBU, I have no choice." Turning back to face her, a small smirk painted itself on his lips, brushing aside his hurt. "I follow my commands to the fullest degree – even if they are uttered from that tanuki-eyed bastard."

That comment struck her, her eyes glaring towards him.

"Don't look at me like that, old habits die hard!" He laughed with a smile. "Besides, he assigned me to protect you. I couldn't say no to that. You're my friend, I'd do anything for you. Even if you asked me to accept your relationship… I'd have no choice in that matter either."

Noticing her chuckling smile, he flinched. "T-That doesn't mean I approve! To be honest with you, Nomasaki – I…" Jolting himself, he stopped his words before they could have a chance of escape. "N-Never mind! It's embarrassing."

"No, I want to know," She said, a coy grin on her lips. "What are you hiding? You said you'd do anything for me – can I ask what you were going to say?"

Upon meeting her sweet smile, Shinto found himself lost in her strange eyes. He was trapped. Embarrassed, he covered his face with his palm, chuckling to himself in silence. "Damn it! You got me…" He sighed, averting his glance. "What I was going to say was that…" Facing her, he gave a light smile. "I actually had quite the crush on you back when we were genin, and I… still do. I guess you could say… I… love you."

Stunned, she looked up to him.

"Ah, so it wasn't obvious?" He laughed. "That's a relief."

Not once had she thought anyone other than Gaara would have held affections towards her. The fact that it was her estranged teammate shocked her even more. Having only thought of Shinto as a dear friend, his words not only stunned her but showered her in unimaginable guilt. No wonder he was upset of her relationship, she thought. It only added more fuel to the fire for his hatred for Gaara. And she was partially to blame.

"Why did… Why do you…?"

"The same reason Kazekage-sama does," He smiled at her widened eyes. "You're smart, kind, thoughtful, and strong at heart." Looking away for a moment, he felt a flush of red paint his cheeks. "You're also very pretty. I'm honestly surprised no other suitors swept you off your feet by now… but I take it you've only had eyes for him, am I right?"

"You've felt like this… this whole time?" She stammered, her eyes wide and frozen. "I had no idea."

"I know you don't feel the same, and that's alright," He sighed. "I just wanted to tell you while I still have the chance."

"What are you saying?"

"We're shinobi, Nomasaki. We live very brief and dangerous lives. It could be a matter of time before I…-,"

Catching him by surprise, he saw her cup her face with her palms, crying silently.

"Hey, now! Stop crying - I'm sorry!"

"You're so foolish…" She chuckled, quietly, wiping away her tears. "You haven't changed a bit, that's… comforting." Guilt painting her eyes, she tried her best to give him a warm smile. "Shinto, you mean so much to me. I hope you know that."

"I do," He smiled back with a nod. "Don't worry."

Noticing the approaching rays of the setting sun, the cool tinge of the evening winds blew past them. Fastening his cloth shroud over his face, he gestured a nod back towards the direction of the Kazekage's mansion, its structure looming over them in a rising shadow.

"Let's escort you home, it's getting late. Kazekage-sama is probably worried-sick and pacing in his office right now."

Nodding, she gave a light smile. Following close behind him, she looked on at the towering structure in her view. Feeling the cool winds move past her, she felt the chill in her spine return, shuddering her in the memory of her sudden transformation. As she approached closer to her home, she mulled over the thoughts running wild in her mind.

Gaara was hiding something from her – and she knew it was something dire.

From the gust of the winds, a silhouette appeared before her in the shadows. Knelt before her as a tracker-nin, their porcelain mask gleaming in the dimming sunlight as they stood before her as she paused in her steps. Their mask was shaped to the likeness of an owl, adorned in purple markings and blackened cavities for eyes. Its appearance haunted her, reminding her of the presence Tojiru once evoked towards her when she was a rookie. Sohei. He arrived as still as a shadow, cut clean with duty with his friendly eyes grim with his mission.

Pulling a sealed scroll from his pack, the owl-faced tracker-nin handed it towards her.

"Nomasaki-sama," Sohei spoke in a low-toned voice. "Moro-sama requests your presence."

Taking the scroll from his worn hands, she opened it, scanning the parchment with careful and dulled eyes. She froze. Her fingers flinched upon the paper, prompting her to roll it back into place. Cleansing her expression of shock, she opened her eyes towards them with a blank slate, her eyes emotionless and empty.

"I understand…" She answered, begrudgingly. "As a tracker-nin of Suna, I accept."

Giving a subtle nod of his owl-like mask, the shinobi before her knelt down and vanished within the shadows. Stepping towards her, Shinto came to a pause.

"Everything alright?" He asked, his eyes narrowed within his shroud. "Was that…?"

"It's nothing,"

Turning towards him, her eyes glistened lightly in the sun, sorrow returning as she felt her chest once again grow heavy with guilt. Clasping the scroll in her hand tightly, she could not hide the discomfort within her violet eyes.

"Please, take me home."

With a nod, Shinto led the way. Walking with her eyes mired in held sorrow, she could not shake the feeling that loomed over her.

Her fate was sealed.

* * *

As the darkness of night painted the bleak skies, she entered her home in silence.

Locking the door behind her, she turned to find Gaara standing across from her. Having no sensory abilities to call upon since her transformation, she jumped at every appearance of him from behind. His chakra was powerful, burgeoning, and very distinct in its feel – something she painstakingly missed as she begged internally to have her powers back. The desert gods did not listen to her pleas – mocking her and her old gods under their breaths.

Pausing before her, Gaara's expression was stoic, stern, and seemed to have been carved from the roughest stone. His insomnia could be clearly seen within the flecks of turquoise within his eyes, his blackened rings that surround them appearing more pronounced than usual. No doubt his worry for her made it worse.

His slate-like expression made her unusually tense as he towered above her, her petite stature standing calmingly still in response. There was so much she wanted to ask him, but her words failed to reach her lips in time.

"You're late," He said, his voice tinged in worry. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," She nodded, feigning a smile. "Don't worry."

Noticing her fading smile from her expression, his glance turned concerned. "What is it?"

"Why are… ANBU waiting to escort me when I step outside?"

"Protective measures," He answered, averting his glance from hers. "If I can't watch over you myself, the ANBU are there just in case. This is a dangerous time, for everyone."

Her heart wrenched as she could sense the worry and care in his voice. Knowing that he was still hiding something from her, she stepped closer towards the distance between them, catching his attention.

"Just in case of Tenbu? Or is it something else?" She questioned, her voice cracking in her shyness. "I can tell you're hiding something from me."

Sadly, his eyes met hers.

Silence.

"Gaara," She pleaded, her eyes glistening. "Please, tell me."

Averting his ringed-eyes, he hung his head low, the messy crimson strands covering his expression from her watchful glance. He knew he did wrong by not telling her the truth – and now it came back to bite him.

"Please, Gaara – I need to know,"

With a deep breath, he lifted his gaze towards her as a stoic expression painted his pale face. Drawing her in, she looked at him cautiously. She was already trembling before he had a chance to utter the words, his mere glance conveying what was left unsaid between them that night.

"You're… their true target." He confessed. "Tenbu are searching for you… as well as my bloodline."

She froze.

At last, her worst suspicions were confirmed. Hiding under the guise of hunting down the Kazekage clan, they wanted her – the last wolf. Instantly, painful memories of the ginkō ore that pierced her entered her mind, taunting her as she remembered how she writhed upon the concrete in agony and how she lost control of her body and smashed through the window as a monstrous beast. It all made sense to her now, ringing through her mind like a bell of surrender.

"…What?" She felt the wind leave her body. "What are you saying…? No, they can't be -,"

"Do you remember when I went to the oasis?"

Meeting his eyes, hers of widened lilacs wavered. Sensing the fear boil up within her, he swallowed the guilt that lumped inside his throat. "The informant said that Tenbu were looking for the 'wolf girl'… mentioning 'those eyes', 'beasts', and 'wolf's blood'… They want to use you for a ritual… a forbidden jutsu -,"

"Who was the informant?" She questioned, her voice quiet. "How would they know?"

Her question caught him by surprise. He had not planned for her to ask that, and his mind was not prepared. There was no telling how she would react, but he knew by the pleading gleam in her eyes that he could not back down.

"It was a woman named Hakuto," He said, dryly. "Of the Hoki Family."

"The Hoki Family?" She repeated, shocked. Suddenly, her mind jolted. "You don't mean -?!"

She backed away from him.

"Nomasaki -,"

"It was your betrothed?"

"She was never my betrothed," He corrected. "Well… she was briefly, but that wasn't my decision – nothing happened - that's besides the point -,"

"How did she know?" Her voice was low and cracking under pressure. "How?"

"The Hoki Family hired Tenbu to overthrow me… then they were betrayed," He explained. "Tenbu were speaking of a ritual involving using you as a… -,"

His words trailed.

Fear overcoming her violet eyes, she held her hands into her chest as she stood under him. Glancing down for a moment, he brought himself to look back into her eyes. His expression was no longer stoic and stern, but broken and exhausted.

"…sacrifice."

The word sent a shiver through her.

"You didn't tell me -?"

Tears forming in her eyes, she walked past him briskly towards the living room. Turning towards her, he eyed the back of her blue dress with guilt marked through his fractured expression. "You didn't need to know -,"

"Yes, I do!" She barked, whipping her head towards him. Surprising him, tears were already streaming down her face, her lip quivering as she tried with all her might to keep her emotions at bay. "You're in danger because of me! The whole village is!" Breathing to herself, she turned away. "It's my fault that they're coming… I should've stayed in Yama when I had the chance…"

" _Stay in Yama?"_ He repeated, anger rising in his tone. "What are you saying?! Are you hearing yourself?!"

Walking towards her, he grasped her shoulders. His frustrated expression bored its way into her of sobbing guilt and fear, startling her of the first sight of his anger. His touch was strong and protective in tone, but she could also sense a brief trembling in his fingers. He was masking his true feelings behind a stern face, sorrow clearly gleaming in his ringed-eyes before her.

"Your homeland – your father would be in danger, then! Don't you care what happens to them? Sunagakure is the only place safe anymore. If you were anywhere else, they'd find you and use you for whatever ritual they're planning!"

"At least in Yama, I would be in the snow…" She walked away from his hold, starting towards their bedroom. "The snow doesn't keep secrets." She said, quietly, pausing with her back towards him. "The sand is too coarse and is no place for a wolf…"

"Nomasaki," He called after, his voice quiet and tinged with growing sorrow. "You know why I didn't tell you sooner… I only want to protect you -,"

"Protect yourself, please!" She pleaded, her eyes wet with tears. "I'm a broken wolf with no chakra, I'm not worth protecting!"

Turning towards him, her glistening eyes of violet glanced up at his gaze over her. He appeared behind her within the silence of his sands, his eyes solemn and empty. During their three-month relationship, they never had a fight until that moment - and it was horrible for both of them. Pleading internally for a compromise, Gaara knew that he was in the wrong had his poor grasp on social cues warn him earlier. Keeping secrets was a recurring theme in their relationship – and it was his unfortunate doing.

Comfortingly, he held her in his arms, patting the strands of gold hair that fell over her. Silently, she wept into his chest, grasping to the burgundy fabric of his shirt. Resting his chin upon her head, he closed his eyes in held shame as he felt her shiver through him. He seen her cry a lot over the last few days and he desperately wished she would stop. It would only be a matter of time before he wept, too.

"I told you before… I'll always protect you, I promise…" He assured, quietly. "I'm sorry… I should know better than to keep secrets from you by now…"

Wiping her eyes, she rested her head against him as her sobs failed to return. "I shouldn't be keeping secrets from you either,"

Startling him, she stepped out of his arms, her cheeks tearstained and eyes glistening with guilt. He felt his heart grow heavy in his chest from her expression. Her eyes spoke to him before she could even utter a word. It happened.

"No," He began, shocked. "You don't mean -,"

Looking down at the floor, she nodded. "I've been summoned. I am to scout for Tenbu tomorrow at dawn."

He stepped closer, his eyes pleading. "You can't, you're their target -,"

"I'm a shinobi." She said flatly. "I made my oath, I take my orders… I'm following through with my mission. That's the oath I made when I became a shinobi of Suna. I don't exactly have a choice."

Starting for the bedroom, she paused and touched the wooden curve of the doorway with her fingers. Watching her silently, Gaara felt the sorrow swell up into his throat once more. She had no powers, she had no sensory skills – she would be risking her very life on that mission. Her wolf's blood would be the very cause of her death - and fate was waiting for her. The thought overcoming him, he turned away.

Turning back to him, she tried her best to give a gentle smile. "I'm turning in for the night… I leave for the Land of Claws at dawn."

"Don't do this…" He pressed, seeing past the smile on her lips. "Stay."

"I have no choice," She reminded him, her gaze saddening – defeated. "…Goodnight, Kazekage-sama."

Vanishing into the shadows of the corridor, she disappeared from his sight. Wanting so badly to follow her, his insomnia gnawed and tugged at his mind in torment. He decided that he would join her later – insomnia or not.

As she slept that night with broken thoughts, he held her close – awake and unnerved…

* * *

 _ **Notes:**_ In Shinto beliefs, the wolves (called ōkami, 狼) were spirits believed to be the messengers of the kami.


	61. The Mark of Death

**_Author's note (2020/04/15):_ **Hey everyone! I hope you are all well! This is by far the longest chapter I've written thus far for this fic - _and the most crazy_. I hope you enjoy this week's chapter! This serves as the official turning point for the story before we reach the climax and ending, so I hope I wrote this chapter with justice. I had a hard time writing this one because I often doubt my abilities as a writer and I hate all my work, but I've had some encouragement as of late through friends and PMs alike - so thank you all for reading!

I hope to have this story finished by the end of quarantine - whenever that may be. Stay strong!

cheers, my dudes xx

 _ **(see end for more notes...)**_

* * *

 **Chapter 61  
** **The Mark of Death**

* * *

The air was brisk with an unfamiliar cold, shuddering the tree leaves above. The sky looked ripe for rain, the dark cloud billowing while the winds whisked through the forested land. Near the far reaches of the Land of Wind's border, they reached the forest it shared with the neighboring Land of Rivers. A day's journey east, the forest was a stark contrast to the sands that claimed the barren hills of the desert. Green filled their sights, enveloping everything with its shelter and growth.

The stench of death and betrayal overtook them upon arriving at the broken gates of the manse. It had been weeks since the mutiny of the once-powerful Hoki Family, but their commander insisted they take a brief detour to examine the scene of the bloodbath. Charred black by fire, the wooden frames crumbled to ash and peppered the grounds as they investigated the scene. Buildings were desolate, windows shattered, and dried crimson stained the earth and walls along with the rusted kunai and shuriken that etched their mark on the cobblestone. Many were left dead, their corpses picked apart by a sea of crows. As the tracker-nin squadron approached, the crows cawed and panicked, their black feathers littering their carrion as they took refuge within the trees. It was a truly grim sight to behold. Not a soul lingered in the Hoki family's compound, their voices lost to the brisk winds that claimed their final words of anguish.

"Commander Moro," A masked ninja appeared. "Not a single survivor is in the mansion. We've searched every floor, every room – no one."

Narrowing his greying eyes, Moro eyed the manse that loomed over them insidiously. "I see… so those bastards really did massacre all of them who remained." Directing his attention towards the shinobi at his back, he gave a swift nod. "Keep searching for clues before we move on! If there are any survivors, we must prepare an envoy to Suna."

"Yes, sir!"

Following her commander's orders, Nomasaki turned towards the manse, eyeing it suspiciously through the red slits of her mask. In the shuriken holster on her thigh, she could feel Gaara's flask of sand fluttering uneasily. Ominous. She imagined a chakra within the manse, emanating softly within the bowels of its main floor – but her senses were fuzzy if not gone completely. Her blood remained quiet and calm since that day, refusing to boil into the beast she once was only days ago.

"Sense something?"

Turning to meet his questioning gaze, she nodded. "Possibly," Looking back to the manse, she started on her path. "I have to check something out. I'll be right back."

Her march towards the grand entrance was grim, bodies of the guards sprawled and rotting at every turn. They had been dead for some time, she thought. Stepping through the porch, blood painted the paper walls, their once immaculate imagery of birds painted in exquisite strokes of watercolor riddled away by the slashes of blades. Laying face down in the center of the room was a man, crimson staining the back of his fine robes. He had a bald head, gaunt hands, and appeared a frail shell of a leader once beloved. Done in by his own sell-swords and renegades, she realized. He must have been mad to do so – a fool.

Sensing the chakra linger faintly, she cautiously stepped further into the dark that pooled from the halls beyond. Reaching a stairwell, she descended into the darkness with a deep breath. The dark did not scare her, but not knowing what lingered beyond it chilled her. How others unlike her could survive without sensing chakra was beyond her understanding – and she would do anything to have it back. A light peeked through the vast walls of painting and scrolls. A candle was lit – but by whom? Reminding herself that she had her katana strapped to her back, Nomasaki proceeded cautiously. If Tenbu were still lurking beneath the shadows of the Hoki family's skeletons, they would not hesitate to leap forth and end her life as well. She was the one they truly wanted after all – the wolf. By all means, she was ready to put her life on the line and end things if need be – even if she was to be a sacrifice in the end.

Creeping closer towards the candle, her grip on her katana's hilt relaxed. Riffling through the contents of an old chest, she saw a young woman clothed in a dark cloak. Her hair was an inky black, shining in the candlelight that coated her sights. Catching wind of the tracker-nin behind her, the woman grew startled. Seeing only the wolfish visage poking out through the shadows, she jumped from its ghostly presence.

"Don't kill me -!" She pleaded, cowering against the wall. "Please -!"

Realizing her fright, Nomasaki eased her stance. Finding a wolf-like face looking back at you from the shadows would frighten anyone, she reminded herself, guiltily. Stepping closer into the orange light, she gave a subtle nod, the hue of her purple eyes meeting the glimmer of soft ocean blue.

"No, no – I'm here to help you." She assured. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm alright." She replied back, gathering herself and dusting off her kimono's lap. Her dress was made of very fine fabric, reminding her of the dead man upstairs. As she rose to meet her face to face, she saw her heart-shaped face framed by the silky black hair that flowed over her shoulders. A noblewoman, her beauty youthful and quaint. "I fled weeks ago… I only came back to recover my family's ancient texts and scrolls, I swear! Who are you? Not of Tenbu, I hope."

"I'm of Suna -?!"

As Nomasaki took a single step towards the woman, a shadow leapt from the darkness with a blade readied towards her, standing between them with their eyes red and blade gleaming. Before they could strike, Nomasaki countered with her katana, quickly unsheathing the weapon as the clang of metal rang within the shadows. The adversary was strong, her strike toned by many years of practice. Focusing on her enemy's glare, she soon realized it was a woman who held their blade against her. She was slender, clothed in a sleeveless flak jacket and dark mesh, her hair a sandy blonde and her eyes gleaming with red from the orange candlelight that surrounded them.

"Shijima! Stop!" The cloaked woman cried out. "She's not one of them!"

Glancing back to her, Shijima looked back at the wolf-masked intruder before her. Meeting her faint lilac eyes behind her mask, she glared in reluctance. Something about her eyes made her uneasy, the mask only accentuating that fact. Relaxing her blade, she stood before her in defiance.

"Speak, dog. Remove your mask." She demanded, her tone brisk. "Why are you here? Are you here for my elder sister and myself? Make your case – and fast."

Sheathing her katana into its place on her back, Nomasaki clasped her porcelain shroud with her palm, unlatching it carefully as they watched her with guarded expressions. The dog remark irked her, a slight smirk finding itself painted on her lips.

"I take it you've never seen a wolf before," She spoke, her voice calm as she eyed them directly. "I mean you no harm, my lady. I'm a tracker-nin of Sunagakure."

The black-haired woman's blue eyes widened as she met her face from the shadows. Gold hair and purple eyes – _those eyes_. "A wolf? It's you -!" She gasped. "You're not… the lover of Kazekage-sama, are you?"

Taken aback, Nomasaki furrowed her brow slightly. "How would you know that -?!" Clicking in her mind, she jolted from her scattered memory. "Hakuto-sama?"

Smiling smoothly, the woman nodded. Hakuto of the noble Hoki family. It suddenly all made sense. Standing before her with the protection of her sister was the previous bride of the Kazekage – his betrothed from an arranged marriage gone awry. She was a beautiful woman, she could gather it with her own eyes. Risking her life to tell Gaara of Tenbu's plans was a great feat and she was indebted to her for that – surely, she was no enemy.

"I wish the circumstances where we finally met were kinder," Hakuto lamented. "But I guess the desert gods have different plans for both of us, it would seem."

"They're not my gods," Nomasaki corrected, smiling lightly. "My only god is death, I'm sorry – but thank you for the kind words, my lady."

"Grim. You surely are a wolf, then…" Hakuto shuddered, grasping her cloak in her delicate fingers. "I must thank you for not attacking me. Forgive me, I thought the darkness would add more cover to myself."

Nomasaki narrowed her eyes slightly. "Why are you here? I was told you fled to Konohagakure?"

"We did," Shijima stepped closer, her arms folded against her chest. Her presence was intimidating, her eyes appearing an orange red and chakra that indicated a great deal of strength. "Our family's scrolls are all that remain from the coup. They're our history, it's all we have left besides the shirts on our backs – we have no more wealth, no more honor - nothing. We also came back to find any survivors who hid amongst the dead. There's an envoy to Konoha waiting for us back in the Land of Rivers with some of the clansmen who escaped the day of the mutiny. Our blood survives but the Land of Wind is no longer home for us… our lord father saw to that - the fool…"

Nomasaki nodded, solemnly. "I see… In that case," Putting on her snarling mask, she straightened her back, stern eyes meeting theirs with warning and caution. "As a tracker-nin of Suna, I bid you safe passage. I'll summon my comrades for you. The roads are dangerous these days, they can give you an escort from here to Konoha with your envoy."

"You're too kind, thank you." Hakuto sighed, bowing gratefully. "I'll be sure to tell the Konoha guards of your kindness!"

As they parted ways, Shijima gave Nomasaki a guarded stare. "Take care, wolf."

* * *

While she finished writing on the scroll, she rolled it up hastily, looping its bindings over until it was sealed. The air was still cold as the winds passed, heightening her suspicions of what lay ahead. It was the beginning of summer, yet the winds still tasted of the winter. The wolf inside grew uneasy, as did the sands in her pocket.

"You sure they can be trusted?"

Turning to Moro as he approached, she gave a nod from behind her mask. "It was Hakuto-sama who relayed the intel to Kazekage-sama. I don't imagine she would risk her life to tell us of Tenbu if she wanted us dead." Standing, she held the scroll for him to take. "I have trust in them… Their chakra seemed normal - from what I could tell, at least."

"I suppose I'll take your word for it, then." Summoning a hawk, the bird perched on his leather-clad arm and ruffled its bronze feathers with a shriek. "Those were some of our best men who are escorting them… Let's hope Kazekage-sama's judgement is right." Taking the scroll from her, he glanced at it with a narrowed glare, then looked back to her. "Are you sure this was all the intel we've gathered thus far?"

She nodded. "Yes, Moro-sama. The only survivors were Hakuto-sama and her sister Shijima-sama. Any others have long since fled."

"I see… We should be reaching the outskirts of the Land of Claws by nightfall." Placing the scroll into the satchel on its back, he flung his arm upwards and the hawk flew off into the clouded skies. "Our reinforcements from Suna should meet up with us by daybreak so we can storm Tenbu's supposed hideout with a swift iron fist. Our brief detour here at the Hoki Family's estate cost us some time… but it was worth the scouting. Tenbu moved north, the trail of blood they left behind only makes it more obvious."

Stepping forward towards the tracker-nin lined in formation, he gave a commandeering scowl from his burnt face. Even as she stood with her comrades, she could not help but feel something was gone awry. The winds blew mercilessly, the treetops swaying around them in the cold. Masked behind her wolfish visage, she stood in silence as her commanding officer bellowed his orders to the squad of nine masked shinobi, their animal masks gleaming in the sun before the demonic grin of their leader's porcelain shroud.

Death was all around them.

* * *

The sky grew heavy with dread as they bounded through the dense forest of green.

Shadows lingered at every corner, the last of the sunlight snuffed out by the clouds and treetops. Beside at his right-hand, Nomasaki kept forward with the pace. Using her human form for missions was proving no easy feat, her muscles aching with each leap and jump from the branches. As a beast, she could run tirelessly for miles, her senses guiding her to her destination. Today was not such a day. Her senses were foggy, the chakra of her comrades close by not even describable. Moro's chakra of scorch-release and fire did not so much as make her shiver anymore, and Sohei's feathery wind-release chakra could no longer be felt on the winds even as he leapt behind her in formation. Only his owl mask identified him to her now, her blood boiling no longer. The life of a human would be more difficult than she thought.

"We're less than ten miles from the border of the Land of Claws!" Moro shouted. "All of you, get into your positions! We'll be taking Formation B until our reinforcements arrive!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Nomasaki, you'll be sticking close to me." Moro spoke, his demonic mask eyeing her. "We'll need your chakra detection to figure out how many reside within those mines."

She felt her stomach clench from the words. She could hardly sense the chakra of her squadron, let alone scout out the presence of her enemies. That was far off from her reach as it was. It had been a tumultuous few months since her initial swipe with the ginkō that marked her arm in its scarring, but the guilt and shame that shot through her was unimaginable. She was never one to make the best decisions – as hard as they may be – but the flaw and its consequence was staring her straight in the eyes.

"Yes, Moro-sama," She gathered herself, leaping from a branch. "I'll do my best."

For a moment, his darkened eyes lingered upon her mask, peering at her hidden fear through the slits of his demon's eyes. As the skies thundered and greyed, the trees grew silent while the nine tracker-nin dispersed into the thicket. Their katanas ready at their backs, their animalistic shrouds scanned for any black garbs bearing the name Tenbu. Shielding herself behind a tree trunk covered in dewy mosses, Nomasaki lay in wait near her commander, her wolfish mask peering out for foes with its menacing red eyes. No chakra could be felt around her, chilling her spine with each tingle from the cold winds that surrounded them.

"There appears to be no one around the perimeter," Sohei spoke, hushed by the winds as he sat knelt beside them. "No sign yet of our reinforcements either, Moro-sama."

"Damn it all… Guess we'll have to spare more time for them to reach us," Moro grunted. He turned back to his right-hand as Sohei returned to his rightful place. "Nomasaki, can you sense any chakra nearby?"

Swallowing her fear, she returned her gaze towards the thicket ahead. Only darkness and shadow lay before them, eclipsed by the towering brush and trees while the skies grew heavy with thunder and rain. Forming a single hand-sign, she shut her eyes tightly. She still had to try – for them. Gritting her teeth as she focused, she felt as if her temples would burst. Nothing. Not a single fiber of chakra dared to grace its presence to her, chilling her with her fear for the unknown. Her fingers trembled as she returned her hands to her sides.

"No, nothing." She said, coldly. "I can't sense anything."

Moro turned towards the shadows. "Peculiar. Are you certain?"

A shout erupted from the back of the formation before she could give an answer. "Commander Moro! Stand guard!" Blades readied in the still air. "Someone is approaching!"

"Why didn't you give us a warning?!" Moro whipped his head towards her. "We've been surrounded!"

She met his shocked and angered gaze with a panicked fear. "I couldn't sense them -!"

"Commander!"

A blinding flash of blue erupted in their sights.

In succession, three blinding blasts of blue flame burst forth from the front and back of their hidden formation. Cracking fissures into the reddened earth of growing wastes, trees were uprooted, boulder turned to dust, and blood painted the scarred forest floor. In a matter of moments, their plans had fell apart at the seams. Broken.

Her head throbbed as she rose slowly from the impact. Her eyes opening through the cracks of her mask, pain sharply passed through her. Wincing, she hazily looked to her thigh where a shard of glowing ginkō was pierced. Blood leaked from her leg slowly as she tried to move, painting the earth below her. Hearing a muffled gurgle of flesh, she looked up to meet the crimson painted mask of Sohei standing above her, a man dressed in black garbs with a blade to his throat.

"Sohei! No!"

She cried on deaf ears.

With a jerk, Sohei's neck sliced open, red spilling onto the owl that covered his face and his flak jacket. His body collapsed before hers with a sputtering thud, blood drowning the earth beneath him. Eyeing her in his sights, the man dressed in the black garbs loomed over her as she lay bleeding. A beast was marked upon his breastplate, snarling over his chest. Her eyes widened from meeting it in her sights. For the first time in her life, the emblem was clear to her. The beast shaped to that of a bear, the symbol of the Kumatsume clan as she remembered from stories from her father.

She felt as if her blood turned cold.

Memories of horror flashed before her – the mountains of snow, the fires of her home long since gone, the emblem of her enemies glistening from the fires of murder – the beast. It was _them_ – Tenbu - and she was beyond certain.

Tenbu arrived for her at last.

Before the man could make a move towards the trembling wolf before him, a blade shot through the air above her, pinning him and his entrails against the boulder behind him. His body twitched in death, the paper bombs that littered his chest under his garbs staying mournfully silent as the blood leaked over them.

"Can you stand?"

Pained, she turned back to see Moro inching closer on a limp, his leg torn and bleeding from the blast. One other tracker-nin survived, a relief. "Commander Moro -!"

As the agony of her leg throbbed through her, she bit her lip under her broken mask, pulling out the shard of glowing ginkō and casting it aside as she felt it scorch her hands. With a cry of pain, she flung it out from her thigh in a haze of red. It was not until she breathed the pain out of her lungs that she realized her flak jacket was shredded to ribbons and her mask was cracked across the bridge of her nose, near shattered into two separate fragments as she stood weakly from the crimson earth. He eyed her suspiciously, averting his glance as he prepared himself for more attackers.

"My suspicions are right, then. You did lose your powers."

She jolted. "You knew?"

"I could sense it in your eyes since you returned from Konoha… I saw it gone." He said. "I've been a shinobi much longer than you have, mind you. _I can see things you cannot_." Shuddering, he clutched the wound inflicted upon his torso, a deep gash splitting the skin from his shoulder to abdomen. It appeared as if only the leather of his garbs kept it closed. "Shit… the wound's deep…" He glanced back to her broken snarl. "It got you, too… Can you run?"

As she stood, she could feel her leg throb and tremble under her weight. Although the ginkō was gone, it still burned its way through her blood. Even her scar was unsettled, but not wolf stirred inside her. "I can hardly move as it is, I'm afraid. My leg… it's near numb."

"Damn the world," He laughed under his breath. "We're just sitting ducks then, if the enemy dares to show themselves. It'll be at least hours for reinforcements to arrive… if we're lucky." Glancing towards the shadows, his burnt scowl gleamed in a strange unseen empathy. "I knew what Kenzō had planned for you since the beginning,"

Startling her, she whipped her broken visage towards him, her gold hair slashing against her shattered snout of red while the winds blew past in foreboding.

Spitting blood through his teeth, he gave a grin from his ghastly scarred face. "I did my best as commander… to protect my men… and our honor as shinobi of Suna! At least I can die knowing that…" Readying his jutsu, he forced himself to ignore the pain that shot through his leaking wounds. Forming a hand-sign with both arms outstretched towards the black-clad enemies who emerged from the trees, he swallowed his final rites. "Nomasaki, get out of here! Now!"

Her eyes widening as she recognized his jutsu, her body jolted. It was his famous scorch-release he was preparing, planning to flush out all remnants of Tenbu that lurked within the forest around them. He sealed his fate. "Commander Moro -!"

"Go!" He shouted back, focusing his chakra. "I said we'll be food for crows one day… death waits for no man. My time has come – but it's not time for you yet! Go, get out of here!"

Drawing her katana from the back of her tattered flak jacket, she gnashed her teeth as she pushed herself to take her stance at his side. "I'm done running away," She answered, her expression stern on the forest ahead. "If I'm to die – I'll die doing my duty!"

"My scorch-release has a trump-card… and I intend on using it in my final moments as a shinobi worthy of such a death." Moro barked, the strength of his chakra blowing around him, whipping the torn leather that clung to him. "It's noble you don't want to run… that means I've succeeded as your superior. But you're not the one marked for death on this day… that honor goes to me and me alone!" He glanced towards her, his dark eyes meeting hers of glistening violet. "Retreat today so you can live tomorrow! Now, Nomasaki – go!"

Holding back her emotions, she reluctantly slid her blade back into its place on her back. Giving him a final bow of servitude, she prepared herself for a jutsu by forming a hand-sign while she crouched down. "Thank you… for all that you've taught me…"

The winds picked up around her, transporting her far from the burst of orange flames that engulfed the scarred battlefield of red. Enveloping him in a casing of blood-orange fire, Moro's infamous scorch-release was activated for a final time – his mortal body acting as its final vessel. Just as the feared Pakura of Suna used her scorch-release in times of old, Moro was focusing all his might into his core, engulfing him in an act of certain suicide. Expanding with a deafening tome, the orb of magma-like fire swallowed the forest in its wake, taking in the few Tenbu assassins who lurked in the shadows, their paper-bomb-ridden bodies bursting as they were licked by the flames.

He was gone.

* * *

Only the rains quelled the fires that ravaged those cursed lands when they finally burst forth from the clouds above in fierce thunder.

Far from the lands turned to ash, Nomasaki clutched her arm as she stumbled within the forest of black. Night approached faster than she could collect, her feet aware of the path she was forcing herself to take. The rains against her poured and struck her with a fierce cold she was not used to. The waters ran down the tears of her shirt onto her skin, chilling her as they reached her spine and pooled down her bleeding leg.

Behind her in the footprints she left in the mud were her ravaged flak jacket and her wolfish mask, the crack more prominent than it was before, etching a deep scar across its snarling muzzle of red and white. Although her face was unscathed, her eyes were utterly defeated. She failed. A lost cause, she wandered the forest alone and with no senses to give her any hope for survival. She would be found soon enough, the faint trail of blood she was leaving behind would be her fate.

Ripping through the rains of the aimless night, a howl broke across the winds.

Freezing in her weary steps, her eyes shot open from the noise. The padding of paws against the wet foliage soon came after, growls rising as the pack closed in. Standing still as she reached the clearing surrounded by the towering trees around her, she soon saw the eyes of ghosts watching her from behind the shadows. Jolting her, she soon realized she was surrounded by the wolf pack of the Land of Wind. Snarling aggressively, the brown-furred alpha stepped closer towards her, its fur prickled on its arched back while its packmates closed in from the refuge of the trees, their growls echoing through her ears and heart.

"The wolves…!" She gasped, shocked. Begging for her blood to soon boil, she reached out a trembling blood-soaked hand towards the alpha's black nose. "I'm… one of you – so please -! Listen,"

Lunging, it barked towards her, causing her to fall back onto the mud. Gritting her teeth in pain from her wound, she tried again. Her lilac eyes saddened and pleading towards the snarling beast, she could see the fear and anger within its amber eyes. Her blood refused to stir. Her heart aching underneath, she held back her tears, reaching out towards the wolf one more time.

"I'm one… I'm… a wolf -! Please… believe me…"

Its lips curling over its canines, the wolf hesitantly edged towards her palm. Sniffing it twice, the snarls of the beast caused her to feel fear. Soothingly, the wolf licked her palm as its snarls vanished on the winds. Surprising her, her heart eased, warmed by her stroke of luck. Turning towards the packmates, the alpha and its pack soon disappeared back into the shadows of the darkened forest. Relieved, Nomasaki's hand grew limp, falling beside her on the soaked ground. The rain pounded against her body, her vision going blurry as she tried to see into the night above.

She lost a great deal of blood, her strength failing her.

Closing her eyes, she disappeared into the darkness – hoping to emerge as a wolf once more.

* * *

The hawk arrived at the Suna Aviary faster than anticipated, the shinobi scrambling to relay its details to the higher-ups and council.

The light of dusk still graced the skies, painting everything in a calming orange hue. Restlessly, the council conversed in the chambers while the insomnia marked the Kazekage's face in all its fury. Quietly with a stern face Kankuro sat at his right-hand and listened to their bickering with a furious tint to his dark eyes. Standing outside the chamber doors, Shinto stood on duty, his cloth veil masking his appearance.

"This will simply not do!" Zarō shouted, slamming his fist against the table. "The men we've rallied should be more than enough. Why wait?"

"The enemy waits for all our might, no harm in keeping them waiting any longer." The younger elder Michi entered. "Our men can join Moro-sama's forces at daybreak as he requested in his plans."

Gaara gave a stern-faced glare from the corner of his eye. Insomnia left its mark upon him, his blackened rings around his eyes appearing darker than usual. His expression was worn, pained. "We should send reinforcements as quickly as possible in this situation. Moro-sama is not someone to take lightly – he means what he says. By all means, send our forces – and send them now!"

"I agree with Gaara," Kankuro said. "Tenbu won't wait – we have to strike now!"

"Kazekage-sama," Baki spoke out, his eyes narrowed towards him. "We also received a hawk from Konoha indicating that the Hoki Family survivors safely made it to their lands. I recommend we request their assistance in this as well, being that we're low on forces as it is."

"I agree with Baki-sama," Zarō calmed. "And I second Kazekage-sama's decision – send our men immediately! Tenbu must be stopped -!?" Turning towards Michi, he noticed the young man hold his head down in pain, his hand grasping his temple tightly. "What's the matter, Michi-sama? What ails you?"

"Oh, n-nothing," He stood from his seat. "Please excuse me, I'm not feeling well…"

Watching carefully as the councilman departed from the chamber into the corridor, Shinto eyed his back suspiciously. There was something he could sense about his chakra that did not seem right. Disturbed, almost. Peculiar. His darkened eyes narrowing, he turned to his guard-mate at his left.

"I'll be back… there's something I have to check out."

Seeing them nod, he vanished with the formation of a single hand-sign, disappearing into the shadows that coated the halls as the sun retreated behind the clay buildings outside.

* * *

Creeping within the darkness, Shinto watched as the councilman cautiously looked back and forth before descending into the basement of the estate's grand mansion. Silent as a shadow, Shinto used his invisibility genjutsu to follow closely behind him before the door closed shut. Scaling into the bowels of the mansion, Shinto's eyes widened at the sight of hundreds – if not, thousands – of glowing blue minerals as large as crystal. Ginkō ore – all of them arranged within the vast bottom floor of the estate. Conversing silently as they drew out a symbol in blood from their thumbs, Michi and a man garbed in black head-to-toe recited a jutsu formula together, but it was inaudible to his trained ears.

"… _rise… ashes… Kuma… Tenbu… the wolf... they found her..."_

He felt his blood rush from the name. It was them – they were here, he thought, panicked.

Taking the wind out of him, he felt something sharp pierce through his chest. Looking down, his hand was covered in his own blood, his flak jacket oozing with crimson from a katana that was thrust through his back. Looming over him from behind was a Tenbu assassin clothed in black garbs, the snarling beast etched onto the armor over their chest.

"Is that the only rat?" A voice called from across the vast room. "Good, then. Leave him. He can die a merciful fate of bleeding to death instead of turning to ash like his comrades."

It was a familiar tone, he realized. Still shaken that he was seen through his genjutsu, he slowly pulled himself up to catch the glares of Michi and then he saw him – Kenzō. The disgraced councillor who plotted against the Kazekage those years ago, the one who tortured his friend – the imprisoned. Gnashing his teeth, he watched them disappear into the shadows as his vision grew hazy.

"I… have to… urgh -!" Lifting himself up, his legs wobbled underneath him. "I have to… tell them… I have… to warn them…!"

Pulling himself up against the clay wall, his veil and turban fell from his head, his shaggy black hair swaying over his dulled eyes as he pushed himself to climb the weaving stairs. Clutching his wound with his palm tightly, he winced as he marched onward towards the council chambers floors and stairwells away. He had no further strength to summon himself through his jutsu – only his feet could carry him.

Blood soon painted his path.

* * *

"I say we strike at dawn!" A disgruntled councillor argued. "We must wait until -?!"

"Respectful councillors, Kazekage-sama," A panic-stricken guard entered, kneeling. "I beg forgiveness in such a holy place – but we have an emergency on our hands!"

Taken aback, Gaara turned towards the doorway as all eyes followed the messenger. His ringed-eyes widening, the bloodied and stumbling figure of Shinto wandering into the chamber, his blood-soaked hand grasping onto the doorway as he entered breathless and weakened.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Zarō stood. "Quick – send for a medic! Now!"

Leaving his council seat, Gaara started quickly towards him with Kankuro soon following. Catching Shinto with his sand before he could collapse to the floor, he knelt at his side in bewilderment, watching his chest ooze crimson as he gave labored breaths from his crimson-stained lips. Realizing the ANBU's face, his eyes widened as he met the pained glance of the black-haired shinobi. He remembered his face from years gone by - Nomasaki's past teammate.

"Shinto -!?" Gaara spoke, shocked. "What happened? Who did this -?"

"Tenbu... They're here..." Shinto breathed, weakly. "They're planning to... -!" Painfully, his wound pulsed, cutting off his words.

Alarmed, Kankuro whipped his head towards the windows, his eyes going wide. Turning back to his brother, he grit his teeth. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Gaara turned, questioning. "Kankuro -?!"

It suddenly became clear to him.

That noise – it was the same as that day where the wolf burst through the glass.

Urgently, he stood before his wandering councilmen, eyes wide with panic. "Everyone! Take cover – quickly!"

"What's the meaning of this, Kazekage-sama?" An elder stepped closer. "There's no need to -,"

The noise came again, stunning all of them in their tracks as the air fell silent.

In a faint rumble and high-pitch squeal, blue flame erupted from the bowels of the mansion, shaking the very floor they stood upon as it burst forth through the clay barriers before it. In a matter of seconds, the walls surrounding them were thrust apart in a blast of blinding fire as their entire world was torn into a brittle of falling stone and blue flame.

Only the screams below could be heard...

* * *

 _ **More notes:**_ Two cliffhangers - yes, I went there.

I hope to have the next chapter done by next week, but at the very latest you can expect it to be posted by April 30th. Thanks again for reading! I don't respond to all my reviews/comments as I'm very anxious and I tend to not engage online, but regardless - I see them all and I thank you for them! They honestly make my day - and also make me proud that people are powering through this juggernaut of a fic ( _~250,000 words and it's not even done!_ ). Whether you suffered or enjoyed - i thank you for reading, as always.

Stay home and stay safe, everyone xx


	62. To Be Kazekage

**Author's note (2020/04/22):** Hey everyone! I hope you are all well during these times. The writing process has been becoming easier as of late being that i hopped over my writer's block, so there will be a chapter posted every Wednesday until the story is completed. I'm very thankful for every favourite/follow and review for this work as it's a small fish in a big sea of a fandom, it brightens my day to see that some like what i wrote.

If you want to leave a comment/review to share your thoughts, or even rec this to others, by all means - feel free!

Thanks for reading xx

* * *

 **Chapter 62  
** **To Be Kazekage**

* * *

Smoke sweltered into the dead skies, the cries of the innocent ringing high as the chaos ensued.

Gathering themselves, the council members slowly opened their eyes to meet the back of their Kazekage standing with arms outstretched while the winds beat against him through the open cavity of the building. Surrounding the bulk of the massive estate and all of its structures was a cocoon of hardened sands, swirling around them, encasing it from the outside. Containing the brunt of the blast, the majority of the manse remained untouched, but many rooms now hung without walls and stood without floors. The blue blast of nature energy burst forth from the bowels and caverns, ravaging everything in its path. Below, the streets were pelted with the falling stone and destruction. The sand was impervious and shielded many from harm – but there were many casualties. Death rang through the still air with cries high on their ears.

They stood within a skeleton of the chamber's former self.

Panting heavily from the toll on his strength, the sands slowly receded back into the lands from where they came. It was nothing less from the Kazekage. Just as when the Akatsuki attacked near four years earlier, the sands he wielded protected his villagers – and he was determined to do them no harm. Collapsing to one knee and panting, he felt the sweat bead his forehead, his Sand Armor ready to crack underneath.

"Damn it all…" He breathed, his eyes glaring towards the broken view of his village.

"Kazekage-sama -!" Zarō realized, panicked. "What on earth was that?!"

"A warning…" He answered, his panting easing. "Tenbu got us… the bastards…!"

A creak erupted as the mound of shattered stone moved, and Kankuro emerged from his puppet Salamander with two unconscious councillors in tow. Unscathed by the falling rubble, Kankuro was fortunate. Examining the scene around themselves as he laid the advisors onto stable ground, the entire wall was shattered. Even the four grand statues of the previous Kazekage were disgraced. The shape of the First was destroyed, his arms broken – the second was nearly entirely reduced to rubble, while the third lost its head and the Fourth no longer had a nose upon his marble visage. The only holy place for the higher-ups was reduced to a holy pile of rock and clay, all essence of spirit and power breathing no longer, their watchful eyes observing the chambers no more.

"We're lucky the building is even still intact…" Kankuro marveled, shocked. Turning behind him, he took note of all the faces looking towards them. Every one of them was accounted for, except Michi – the advisor who left shortly before the blast. "Where is Michi-sama?"

"It was… _him_ … That… councillor… He betrayed us…"

The gurgling cough of the near-slain ANBU caught their attention. Laying on his back, Shinto writhed faintly as crimson leaked from his lips, oozing slowly as his failing lungs clutched to his native desert air in desperation. Approaching him hastily, Gaara sat on his knees, examining the wound that pulsed through his flak jacket. He was at death's door, both feet plunging into the grave with each rasping breath. Still, Shinto remained persistent, gritting his teeth to quell his suffering.

"Shinto," Gaara began, his eyes stunned. "Are you certain? Was it him?"

Nodding once weakly, Shinto coughed as he tried to muster the strength to speak. "No doubt about it… I sensed something odd… about his chakra… It felt… disturbed, somehow – I don't know… so I… followed him… into the lower chambers…"

"Damn it all!" Kankuro spat through his gnashed teeth in anger, his fists clenching at his sides. "That sounds like the forbidden jutsu of the puppet corps… the Sleeper Agent jutsu."

"How can you be certain?" Baki stepped closer, his brow furrowed. "Who could've cast such a technique? It was only known to Sasori of the Red Sands before it was classified as forbidden, with those retaining its knowledge sealed. We screened all those who are the higher-ups -,"

"It was just like that time when the Akatsuki came for Gaara. There were spies planted within those we thought we could trust, amongst all our ranks. For years, I thought it was Sasori himself who planted them… but I think there's someone else who has been planting their own sleeper agents, being that Sasori has been dead for quite some time. Sasori wasn't the only one with knowledge of the technique, I'm certain of it."

Zarō suddenly realized, scowling. "You can't mean -?!"

Turning to him with a subtle glare of suspicion, Kankuro's dark eyes narrowed. "If Michi-sama served us for years unquestioningly until suddenly he switched into a man of treachery… it had to be _him_ – Kenzō." Averting his troubled glance, he shut his eyes in held fury. "He must've been planting his own using the jutsu since he was on the council… right under our noses until he was imprisoned. That's probably how he escaped the Suna Prison, there was no way the guards would've let that slip by... no way."

"Are you suggesting that Kenzō and those mercenaries are connected?"

"I'm not suggesting," Kankuro said back. " _I know_."

Taking in the words exchanged between them, Gaara held their weight upon his shoulders. Kenzō's trial was a swift one, justice serving him to life in prison within the deep caverns of the treacherous Demon Desert. A merciful fate too kind for a man as vile and repugnant as him, the man who conspired to murder the Fifth Kazekage. _If only he were sentenced to death those years ago_ , Gaara thought to himself regretfully, _if only_.

Shinto's dulled dark eyes narrowed, meeting the glance of the Kazekage, all previous rage and hatred vanished. "It was them… Tenbu – the black-clad men in armor – with that emblem… They were down there, and… attacked me… an ANBU… I don't know how they seen through my jutsu, but… -," Blood spurted from his mouth as he twitched upon the reddened and broken floor. "Damn it… -!"

"Stop talking!" Kankuro shouted. Whipping his head towards the lone ANBU at the door, his expression grew urgent. "We need a medic, now! Hurry!"

As the remaining ANBU vanished past the rising guards, a councillor sent for a nearby shinobi to relay the village guards sound the alarm of invasion. The cries below of the concerned civilians erupted as seas of people clashed with another to reach the refuge of their homes, shinobi bounding through the streets on high alert searching for the black-clad invaders. Breathing faintly, Shinto closed his eyes. His body was near numb, all feeling soon disappearing from his limbs and core.

"I'm… going to die soon… I can… feel it…"

"Let me through!"

Darting towards him from the shattered doorway between the scarce guards who remained, Meiyumi rushed to his side. Seeing his injuries, her heart stopped in her chest, her brown eyes widened in grief as her trembling fingers grazed his wound. Clad in her medic-nin attire, the green aura of healing formed over her palms as she sorrowfully tried to ease his pain. She could feel his creeping death from her touch, her eyes shutting tightly as the sobs crept up within her.

"Damn it, Shinto…" She choked back. "Damn you… How could you…?"

He mustered a weakened smile at his friend. "Meiyumi, don't cry… I know… I'm sorry…" Glancing back towards the stricken Kazekage, his expression faded to a frown. Guilt marked its way into his dulled dark eyes, billowing over the weakened glaze that painted them. "I was wrong about you… I was… all this time… You're a great Kazekage, it was an honor… to… serve you…" Gazing up to the cracked ceiling above, his eyes appeared saddened. "I should've listened to her… back then… Nomasaki… She was right… about you… this whole time…"

Gaara hung his head low, shutting his ringed-eyes tightly in sorrowful understanding. He had known Shinto since childhood, the beaming dark-haired boy who would yap first before striking – his energy in youth turning into aggression towards him after that night of the Shukaku rampage. In his murderous days, Gaara did not bother to turn a blind eye towards him, believing that his strength was far much under his own – inferior. Even as the jinchuriki changed into a more caring person who tried to form relations with his hesitant and fearful comrades, Shinto only met his attempts with vengeful glares and uttered threats under his breath. Only Nomasaki could deter Shinto away from trying to attack in their genin and chunin days. She did it for the sake of both of them, he remembered, as the kind-hearted comrade she was.

"I loved her, you know… I always have…" Shinto confessed, Gaara looking at the dying man in bewilderment. Shinto smiled faintly to himself from his wordless answer, noticing the pure surprise in his tanuki-like eyes. "She chose you, in the end… I knew she would… She always was… fond of you…" He coughed blood once more. "All I held for you was… hatred… I see how foolish that was of me, now… You're our Kazekage… you've done so much for our village… I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize, Shinto." Gaara said, his eyes sad but expression stern. "You had every right. I was not the same person I am today… For that, I'm sorry."

Shinto chuckled weakly under Meiyumi's healing. "Look at us… striking up a friendship as I'm at death's doorstep… Nomasaki would get a kick out of this, for sure… Tell her… for me…" His glazed eyes turning desperate, he gave the Kazekage a pleading glance. "She's in danger… Tenbu… they found her… You have to… hurry… before they use her for that jutsu they're planning…" He coughed blood again, biting his tongue in retaliation. "Kazekage-sama… you know this as… well as I do… Only you can… save her…" Wincing, his wound pulsed with a failing heartbeat. Blood trickled from his lips as he uttered a curse, smiling at the very end. "Meiyumi, enough… I'm… not going to make it… save your chakra… Go with him…"

Shocked, her eyes widened with tears as she averted away her held sobs. "Shinto…"

Fading slowly, the green energy that covered her careful palms disappeared as the wound pulsed and oozed a final time. Her back trembled, her cheeks running with silent tears. Watching her weep before her dying teammate, Gaara found his eyes growing heavy as well. Turning back to Shinto, he saw a faint smile mark its presence on his bloodied lips.

"At least I can die knowing that my death wasn't in vain… I followed my duty… until the end… as a member of… Team Hashira… and a shinobi… of Suna…"

"Shinto!"

And he was gone.

His dulled eyes closed while the cavity of his chest fell for a final time, his last breaths leaving him as all the life faded from his body. Departing from the world of the living, he vanished to the realm of the Pure Land to be reunited with his parents once more – and his belated sensei who gave his life nobly in the great war. Shaking from her sobs, Meiyumi pushed herself to look up to the Kazekage knelt across from her. Her brown eyes were wet with tears, her cheeks tearstained. Fending off her emotions, her glance grew serious and strong as she saw his saddened ringed-eyes swept under strands of red.

"Shinto… wasn't so easily swayed, Kazekage-sama." She spoke, drawing his eyes towards her. "Whatever he may have said of you in the past, that doesn't matter anymore… He believed in you, at the very end." Her brown eyes narrowed, her shinobi oath masking her sorrow. "He died doing his duty, for you – for all of us."

Closing his eyes with his head hung low, he gave a subtle nod. Shinto's departure from the living was certainly unexpected in his eyes. He was a shinobi – a villager – he sworn to protect. And now he was dead. He would breath no longer, only his name remained. Weighing heavy in his heart, he stood and eyed the open cavity of the wind-ridden council chambers with duty marking his eyes – his will.

"I'm going to stop them myself, once and for all." He spoke, his voice crisp on the winds. "I have to as my duty as Kazekage."

"Kazekage-sama!" Zarō gasped. "Surely you can't stop them entirely unprotected?! We near lost you to the Akatsuki – the Shukaku was lost and you paid with your very life!"

"He's right, Gaara," Kankuro stepped closer, watching his back. "I'll put a rush on assembling a team, and then we'll go together -,"

"No," Drawing his shock, Gaara's glance towards the desert sands remained unmoved as if he were made of stone. "I'm going alone. Send the reinforcements when you can and relay the news to Konoha as a precaution."

"Gaara – I know you're worried about Nomasaki, but you must remember – your duty -,"

"To be Kazekage, you make an oath to protect the village as its central pillar. You protect the lives of your villagers, those precious to you – and put your life on the line." He answered, his red hair swayed by the ominous winds. "I did for the war, and I will continue to follow my oath until the day I die." He turned to face his brother, his eyes determined and stern. "By going after them, I'm protecting Suna and its future… and I'll bring her back."

Sharing a gaze, Kankuro understood the weight of his words. Remembering the day where Gaara confided to him of his dream to become the Kazekage, his heart wrenched at the strong young man he had become. He followed his dream, achieved it, and lived it. He felt honored to have seen him grow as his older brother. Dire times were all around him, from the blast that quaked and ravaged the village center to the slain ANBU who lay unmasked and grieved upon by a young medic who covered his body with a black tarp. The times of peace had come to pass, fate lurking beyond the sands that his young brother turned his attention towards.

Putting aside his feelings, Kankuro gave a stern nod. "I'll gather a pursuit squad to follow you - and send that hawk to Konoha."

Within the rising brisk winds, the young Kazekage vanished with his sands alone while the cries of chaos were settled by the arriving aid of the shinobi and medics. Standing behind Kankuro, Meiyumi approached closer, her tearstained brown eyes pleading.

"Kankuro-sama," She said, her voice strong. "Let me go with you – I'm a medical-nin."

"You've seen what just happened," He turned to her, sternly. "We might need you down there with the others to heal the injured."

She stepped closer. "I know, it's just… Nomasaki was my teammate. She's my friend, I have to help retrieve her." Sorrow entering her eyes, she glanced back to where Shinto's lifeless body lay. "Shinto wanted me to go, he said before he died… so please," Meeting his stern eyes, she bowed her head slightly. "Allow me to be the squad medic for this mission, so I can be of use to you and Kazekage-sama… and fulfill Shinto's dying wish."

Empathy found its way into his guarded dark eyes. He could feel the hurt inside her glance, the loss of her friend finding its way into his hardened heart. Reluctantly, he averted his gaze from her, nodding once to her request.

"We will meet at the gates in an hour… then we depart."

She bowed her head, sobs creeping into her throat again. "Thank you, Kankuro-sama…"

As shinobi poured into the shattered chamber amongst the broken statues of old, the dust slowly settled while the councillors talked amongst themselves in urgency. Rushing off towards the intel division, Baki departed – followed by Kankuro who left to assemble his new squadron with the brown-haired medic at his side. In a matter of moments, the hawk bearing his message leapt from his arm towards the easterly winds. They sent their fastest bird from the aviary, but if Konoha were to receive the message timely was a question left unanswered on the eerie winds.

They had only hope left.

* * *

Rain and howls echoed into her thoughts, tormenting her in a never-ending sea.

Slowly, Nomasaki felt the sting of the wound in her thigh shudder through her. Her eyes opened, finding only darkness and the dim ripple of light from a far-off flame. An ache pounded behind her dulled violet eyes, stiffened from the glimmer of the candle in the thick dark before her. Where her eyes lay, she saw jagged points of deformed oily black rock twisted and unsheathed towards her. Stalactites, glistening faintly of the minerals held within, sparkling in a way that chilled her.

She was in a cave.

Regaining awareness of her limbs, she quickly realized her arms and legs were free. Her core was weakened, still shaken by the wounds and energy that failed her as she remembered her back hitting the muddy forest floor. The cave was cool and dark, the moist texture seeping into the back of her black shirt. Her forehead felt strangely cold. Faintly, she rose her fingertips and touched her cold and moist skin. Her forehead protector was gone. Blood colored the tips of her fingers, the injury suddenly reminding her of its existence. She must have hit her head when she fell, she thought. Touching her matted gold hair, she sensed the outline of a cut on her brow, the crimson dried and running down to her chin. She could still taste the iron on her lips.

 _Was it the wolves?_ \- _No_ , she shook the thought away, _it felt like a blade done it – a kunai_.

Hearing the echo of footsteps dance upon the cave walls, she turned her head towards the noise. A small woman dressed in ragged and mismatched clothes appeared by the candlelight, changing out the empty sake bottles and removing the plates of eaten and rotting food from its table. She looked dishevelled, her face gaunt and eyes full of fear.

"You there…" Nomasaki forced herself to speak, her voice husky. "Where… am I?"

The woman jolted. Freezing from the sight of the purple-eyed shinobi laying on the cave floor, she set the tray of dishware aside and fled back into the cavern out of sight. Seeing her depart into the darkness did not ease her, reigniting her gut to twist in unease. She suddenly realized that she was in a dangerous place. The sinister gleam of the black stone around her would have deterred anyone. It was a realm devoid of sanctity and comfort – only fear and death crept within.

Turning her head back to her view of the stalactites above her, she felt the faint drip of water fall onto her face. The scattered and scarce droplets felt cold against her skin, dulling the pain of the scratches and wounds that were etched into her skin. Without her flak jacket, she felt cold and naked, her black shinobi attire acting as her only defense from the elements of darkness that gripped her as she lay. Luckily, Gaara's flask of sand remaining unscathed, swirling against the fabric of her pants within the shuriken holster on her thigh. It felt as if begging for release – and she could hardly muster the strength to do so. Footsteps echoed in along the cave walls again, only louder and thundering.

"At last, you awaken… _'Wolf of the Desert'_ …"

Jolting from her voice, she turned towards the shadows before her. Approaching her from the darkness was a massive bull of a man, towering near seven feet and built like a bear. Short dark hair with a wild and untamed beard, he paused before her with his arms folded behind his back as the woman from earlier shakenly bowed and took her leave. Clothed in black garbs, the man's scarce armored plating was visible in the flickering candlelight, its snarling beast clearly visible to her widened eyes.

Death was staring her directly in the face, their vile dark eyes boring into her.

"Who… are you?" She breathed, her chest heaving. "Why am I… here?

"Struggling only makes your pain worse." He answered, coldly, circling before her. "Snaring you alive was quite the task, if I do say so myself. By chance it seems - I laid a trap for Kage… and instead I get his pet."

Meeting his icy expression, she felt a wave of fear consume her. Just from his eyes alone, she felt her insides lurch and twist in retaliation. Something about his presence unnerved her, evoking feelings of seeing her mountain home perish in the flames. She swore in her heart that she never saw his face before, but her instincts were screaming to her otherwise. Never had she felt so afraid. Wolves do not fear, wolves devour fear. But she was a wolf no longer, she had to remind herself. If only Hanone were alive to devour the man who stood before her – she let her thoughts say to her - the beast would swallow him whole.

"Tell me… what business does a Yamamori wolf have in Suna?" He knelt before her, grinning at her stunned expression and violet eyes. Her strange eyes – the eyes that made him fester in hatred. "Oh, that's right…I burned your village to the ground many years ago. I let my men lay waste to it and its people, such a worthless pile of rubble it was… and with no wolves to protect it."

Her heart felt as if it stopped beating.

"Tell me... do you remember me, wolf?"

Memories came rushing back as she fearfully met his eyes again, the dark tint reflected amongst the fluttering candlelight. She was a child in her thoughts.

* * *

 _Stumbling out her door, her knees fell onto the snow as she lost her footing in panic._

 _All around her, houses were ablaze with fire, the flames licking the night skies while villagers ran and screamed for their loved ones. Blades echoed within the night, slicing through the few shinobi who decided to fight back to protect their secluded home. The armored men dressed in black cut Yama's numbers as if it were nothing, blood staining the white snow red. The bodies of the dead mounted, some slain within their homes while others were chased and hunted by arrows or kunai by the few invaders who arrived on horseback._

 _Yelling for reinforcements, the elderly chieftain lunged towards the leader of the mysterious men with his gleaming spear of forged steel. The enemy's blade pierced through his heart and his rallying yells silenced, the katana removed from his lifeless body as he was tossed aside into the red snow._

 _Then, the hulking man in the armor saw her._

 _Frozen in her fear, Nomasaki trembled as the man with the snarling beast upon his armored chest stepped forward with his bloodied blade. Her violet eyes were locked upon the gleam of his armor, her fragile heart pounding with the wish that her clan's dormant blood would awaken to save her._

 _Appearing within a flash of white, the great white wolf she called her guardian stood between them. His lips curled into a snarl as his back arched in preparation to strike. The coarse fur of his back prickled while the distraught air of chaos and fire was broken by his monstrous growls for blood._

" _Nomasaki!" Hanone barked. "On your feet, you must flee this place – now!"_

" _But Hanone -!" She began to cry, her arms shaking as she gripped the snow. "What about you? I can't leave you! You'll die if I go – please don't -! Mother asked you to protect me!"_

" _And that's what I intend to do… I made a promise to Mikomi to protect you – as your guardian and as your mother's will." Shocked, her frightened eyes grew heavy with the tears that swelled within. A sharp growl escaped his jaws and hazed into the cold air while his claws dug into the snow, facing the enemy with daggers in his beastly yellow eyes. "You have to leave Yamagakure, leave the Land of Mountains – go anywhere! This land is no longer safe!"_

" _Hanone -,"_

 _Before she could plea any longer, the beast whipped its snarling muzzle towards her in all its held fury. "Get out of here, now!"_

 _The snarl struck her sharply, piercing her heart as if a dagger made from ice. Startling her, her mother's final words suddenly echoed within her mind. "When he speaks… listen to him…" – and she knew she had no other choice. Gripping the snow tighter in her palms until it began to melt at her fingertips, she gathered herself and bolted towards the thicket behind her ancient clan's empty homestead on the mountain hillside._

 _The rest was a blur, shadowed by the unrelenting blizzard that soon arrived as she descended the peak. Only the sight of fire remained, her final glance back at her home mired in orange flames._

 _Fire and blood…_

* * *

She felt as if the very air was being choked out from her lungs.

Stunned and shaking on the cave floor, her tear-stricken eyes met those of the terrifyingly calm man who knelt before her, her mind tortured by the memory of his eyes. A demon in human flesh, his cold dark eyes and unfazed smirk revealing his true nature. She wanted to lash out and strike him if her body could muster the strength, or lunge with her unforgiving jaws that were ripped apart from her being. The rage boiled inside her, her brow furrowing as she could not take her eyes off his.

"No… it can't be -!" She spat, her teeth gritting as she heaved. "You monster -!"

"It seems you remember me, after all…" He mused. "That beast of yours near killed me. And I'm not the monster, remember – _you_ _are_." He smirked back. "You're the wolf, the one we've been searching for all these years – the last one… or so we thought."

He glared at her, examining the purple of her eyes. The eyes he remembered belonging to a child many years ago, a child protected by a ferocious beast that killed nearly all of his men that night – and nearly himself. She could feel the rage fester in her blood, her feral instincts stirring for the first time in days.

"It appears your people were smarter than we thought. We were wrong. You're not the last one – there were others scattered across the continent, hiding their bloodline. It also seems as though the legendary 'direwolves' of the Land of Frost were actually your people, or so our sources say. _Your people_ \- your filthy beast-blooded people… the wolves of Yama… Seven long years it took me to capture you… and here you are – a wolf in a cage."

His dark glance towards her sent a chill down her spine. Her heart pounded in her chest, wanting to break free from the weight her body gave her to escape or fight for her life. "What are you -?!" She barked, glaring back. "Who the hell… are you?! What do you want from me?!"

He grinned calmly as he stood over her, an eerie calm. "You can call me Koga… of the Kumatsume. I was the chieftain of Ishigakure… before being exiled into these wastes where my people are doomed to starve." Stepping closer, his glare iced. "I was the one who ordered my men to destroy Yamagakure and crush it into dust. I ordered your capture, but those Suna bastards ruined those plans. Yes… it was the Fifth Kazekage then, when he was nothing more than a jinchuriki brat. I should've waited until my injuries healed from your ravenous pet… then I could've snared you myself instead of relying on worthless chunin-fodder to follow my orders. That fatal misstep cost me my leadership and I was banished with my clan to the wastes… replaced by that old buffoon who preaches peace while he has one foot in the grave."

 _Hanone,_ she remembered, _that was why he took so long to return back then_. The kunai she pulled from the beast's chest left their bloodied gleam in her thoughts. Her heart swelled, wishing he were there in that instant. Wishing that someone was there for her sake - anyone. Watching him cautiously as she breathed weakly to sit up, he drew his gaze towards the jagged black points coming from the cave ceiling.

"Tenbu are all who remain loyal to me, my noble defectors who followed… carrying out my whim on my command until we reach our end goal. My people work the mines to fetch ginkō and my mercenaries are trained in the art of assassination just as any other shinobi… Those who cross us, bear our spears thrust through their backs." Glancing back to her, his eyes narrowed. "You asked what we wanted with you… do you wish for me to tell you?"

Sitting weakly, she grasped the stinging wound on her leg with her eyes locked upon him, watching him take another step in her direction. He stopped, his lips curling into a subtle grin of satisfaction. He liked to see her suffer – and it was only the beginning.

"Your blood. It's your kekkei genkai I want." He said. "You see, your beast-loving people have a 'gift' that mine do not… and I intend on taking it for my own."

Shocked, her eyes widened. Fear swelled within her, coursing through every vein in her body. His words were sinister, unlike any she had ever feared. "…Why? Why me?"

He sighed. "Our once-proud people were exiled from the Land of Wind many years ago by the First Kazekage – Reto, the founder of Sunagakure. We were called the bear-people, taking what was ours and what we deserved, ruling the forested lands north of the desert as our own nation. He sealed our bloodline by the power of the sand priests and forced us to live in the Land of Claws, a wasteland with no food or water – we were a broken people, living as outsiders to the very lands that took us in. When the Second Shinobi War arrived, it came right to our doorstep – the Shukaku of Suna was unleashed by its jinchuriki and ravaged what little home we had left. Many died, many starved, many vanished… but we never forgot." Eyeing her maliciously, he saw the fear painted within her eyes. "Then our chance came at last… Sunagakure lost their Fourth Kazekage in a great betrayal, and we received word of a _'girl who rode upon a great wolf'_ living in the mountains. The bait was too good to ignore… so I assembled my men and burnt Yama to ash – looking for you." He held up his hand towards her, pulling down his sleeve from his wrist. "You see… your kekkei genkai is an ancient power, one that uses nature energy – nature energy that is intertwined with the blood of the living… Our clan needs it to give back what is rightfully ours… before we claim Suna as our own!"

"Don't tell me… -," She stammered, her words breaking in her mouth. "Your plan -!?"

Upon the front of his palm, an inscription appeared and began to glow eerily. A forbidden jutsu, she thought to herself, she recognized the markings from her training as a tracker-nin. An extraction formula of dark ages past. Her gut wrenched and heaved while her instincts stirred and screamed inside.

"On this day, the Kumatsume will have their bloodline awakened… and you're going to be our sacrifice."

Around her on the cold cave floor, a circle of eerie red light surrounded her.

Slithering along the faint drawn lines beneath her, the red reached the center where she sat – and burst forth with its power. Screaming in agony, Nomasaki felt as if her entire body were lit on fire. Writhing against the ground, her body twitched as she choked back the urge to cry out, her energy siphoned from every wound, every pore, every breath. It was unlike any pain she ever experienced, the pain from the ginkō scar on her forearm suddenly awakening. She wanted it to stop. Desperately, she forced herself up on her knees, clutching her arm so tight she thought she would puncture the skin. Another cry escaped her lips, her body falling on its side against the pooling red light.

"Koga, enough! Our sacrifice is to be kept alive – for now. The Reverse Sealing isn't completed yet, you know we can't afford to rush things."

In an instant, the pain and glowing suddenly stopped. Heaving her breaths, Nomasaki's eyes quickly fled to the shadows. That voice – that vile voice. It was him. Stepping out to join Koga was the disgraced councillor who near took her life – Kenzō. He appeared gaunt, haggard, and was missing a hand. The hand Gaara severed, she remembered – the hand that would strike her if she did not comply to his every plea. If only the rest of him was severed and rotting. Unlike the last time she saw him, the man she saw within the cave appeared different. His hair was long and white, a beard sprouting from his pointed chin, and he was clothed in the same manner as Koga except no armor plated him – just the long black garbs of death and deceit.

"Brother," Koga turned, retracting his hand back into his sleeve. "I assumed things were already underway?"

"The strike in Suna went out as planned… they received our message. Now we wait for the call to answer our bait." Kenzō sneered through his thick greying beard, his dark eyes the same as she remembered. Turning towards her, he narrowed his eyes in spite. "Soon enough, the Kazekage clan will fade into the desert sands they hold so dear… same with this caged wolf in our midst." Before taking his leave, he looked back to his brother with a stern glint to his eyes. "Leave her… for now."

Alone, Koga scoffed under his breath as he approached her, catching her frightened and guarded eyes. Her face was still bloodied from her capture, her violet eyes peering through the straying strands of gold that fell over her face. Kneeling close in front of her, he grabbed her chin with his large fingers. Holding her face close to his, she tried desperately to escape his grasp, her eyes averting from his intruding glance.

"The _'Wolf of the Desert'_ … is that what they call you?" He sneered. "You may be a wolf… but you are a pretty one." He leaned closer and grasped her hair in his meaty fingers, sniffing it. She felt his harsh breath on her bloodied neck and she tensed in disgust. "I could have my way with you before the ritual, but I'd have to behead you first." Standing up, he released her hold, glaring down at her in amused distaste. "' _Even in death, a wolf's head still has the power to bite'_ , or so the legends say."

"You know the superstitions of my people…" She glared, trying to repress her rage within. As her blood boiled, her fangs poked out of her mouth, her voice growling at him. "…It's best to follow your own advice unless you want to be ripped to pieces…!"

"Is that a threat?"

Not complying, she held her glare to him, piercing him like ice. A loud crack echoed within the cavern, his strong closed fist striking the side of her face. Knocking the wind out of her, she coughed up blood. Reddened, bruised, and bleeding, she turned away as she caught up with her fleeting breathing.

"You can bare your fangs all you want. That's not going to save you." He spat. "Only death can save you now… that will come at daybreak soon enough."

Forming a hand-sign, the four large ginkō ores that formed the outside of the seal she sat upon became activated. Glowing with a faint hum, she felt the air become thin between them and her strength leave her. Pained, she winced as her face hugged the cold black stone beneath her. A barrier jutsu, she realized - and one that exploited her very weakness. When she was alone with her thoughts, she felt the scar on her forearm pulse under her skin. She was going to die in that cave.

Her heart plunged at the thought.

* * *

 _ **Notes:** _Koga of the Kumatsume clan holds meaning to his name. Koga (古賀) in Japanese means "old river". The name is also related to the Koga Castle of Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan, which was built in feudal Japan but has since been demolished in the 19th century.


	63. Fear

**Chapter 63  
** **Fear**

* * *

Whisking through the winds, Gaara stopped firmly on the sands at his feet.

He was in pursuit for hours, flying over the vast orange sands in haste to get to his foreboding destination. Chakra was not to be wasted, he remembered, not even in situations as dire as these. Was he choosing love over duty, he asked himself, _no_ \- _they were one in the same_. A Kage must use their strength and wisdom to protect the village so it may prosper and survive for future generations - to protect the ones most precious and dear. He was doing just that - just as he did those seven years ago when Nomasaki was taken captive by Ishi for her kekkei genkai. History was repeating itself, it seemed, but the lesson echoed was a fickle one. Whatever Tenbu had in store for when he eventually arrived, he imagined it would be similar to what he witnessed ravage his village streets. The flash of blue fire was still fresh in his sights, its haunting screech and blast rumbling through his memory. The ritual. The Sleeper Agents. Shinto. He had to stop them at all costs - as the Kazekage - _as any Kazekage would_.

Evening approached like a veil in the darkening sky, the warm air dwindling as the cool took over.

The Land of Claws was within his sights, the twisted lands of the wastes curling over the horizon beyond the orange dunes. He hesitated for a moment. Turning to the far west, he gazed into the desert sandstorm he left behind. Deep within the unknown plain of sands, no man had dared to venture out of fear of death and starvation. Buzzards were a common sight there, claiming any wayward traveler who sought to brave the sweltering lands. Fools became its victims, becoming buried by the merciless sands and winds that lay the lands to waste. It was in those lands where he remembered tales of his forgotten people.

His clan.

Unheard of in generations, the true name of his clan was lost within the sands of time, known only to his village as the Kazekage family. Centuries ago, they were said to have lived within the untamed desert lands, feared by any who crossed them. Rumored to be victims of rampant mania and madness throughout generations, the clan fell into obscurity, their true name lost forever. It was only until a man of that bloodline named Reto rose as a conqueror and united the families of the desert into Sunagakure – and became the First Kazekage. That was where the name began.

" _When a member of the Kazekage clan is born, they carry the curse of mania in their veins."_

Such was a common expression by the Suna elders – and Gaara was living proof of its ferocity.

Once.

The madness was said to have been inflicted upon those with extraordinary chakra, sweeping through the generations like a silent virus of the mind. Not even the legendary Third Kazekage was immune. Magnet Release said to have been the precursor. Despite the best and bloody efforts of those who sought to destroy them, no enemies could find their long-forgotten settlement. No one could. Some of the elders began to cast doubt if the clan continued to exist if at all, believing the children of Rasa of the Gold Dust were the last living descendants. Such as the vanished Senju of Konohagakure, those with the Kazekage bloodline were scarce amongst the living. They were lost within the infinite grains of sand, shrouded in the mystery that bound them. Maybe if fate allowed, they would reemerge peacefully as the Yamamori did – but that was truly wishful thinking.

The desert gods were said to have flipped coins every time a descendant was born, and the gods could no longer spare such coins – or risks.

Sensing what lay ahead, Gaara readied himself for the border in the horizon.

Turning towards an approaching rumble that raced towards him within the sands, he whipped his head towards it as his guard stiffened. In great speed, a giant mass of sand was billowing to his direction, rolling under the dunes in its wake. In a billowing echo of doom, the ground quaked beneath him. Surprising him, he knew the chakra. The first sixteen years of his life taught him its feel, nearly second nature. His seal had been broken for near four years, but he could never forget the air of the beast's strength even if he tried.

"It can't be -!"

Rising from the sands with a jeering laugh, the great tanuki rose from the depths. Just as he remembered, the beast emerged towering over him, its single tail whipping behind as the purple inscriptions that coated its shape shone in the fading sun. Sand coating over its figure as the beast stood, it looked down towards its former jinchuriki in a strange and fond way. Freedom in its vast desert had changed it, perhaps.

"It's been a long time, runt." Shukaku said. Observing Gaara carefully from above, it peered towards him and looked him up and down. "Well, I see you're a runt no more – but a man! You're no longer the squirt I remember you as. Say… have you gotten taller?"

Gaara met its gaze, a stern expression forged on his face. "Enough with the small-talk, Shukaku. Let me pass."

"Hasty, are we?" The beast mused, leaning back. It gestured a large claw towards the horizon at their side. "If you're looking for those ones with the beast-ridden chakra, they are due northeast – near the heart of the wastes in the Land of Claws."

Taken aback for a moment, Gaara's eyes widened slightly. Beast-ridden people. Remembering the words from Kyo spoken on the mountaintop months ago, he vaguely remembered the Kumatsume – the bear-people. The Land of Claws was their home, Ishigakure their village. Those black-clad assassins with the beast-carved armor where there as well – Tenbu.

"Beast-ridden chakra?" He pressed, urgently. "The Kumatsume - Tenbu?"

Shukaku gave a nod from its great head, its jagged jaws unmoving. "They scoured the desert only a night before… chasing after the path of a group of shinobi from Suna. My senses never lie!" The beast narrowed its blackened eyes towards him. "The wolf-girl was among them, I remember. Her chakra I can't forget… even if I tried!"

Gaara felt his heart skip a beat in his chest.

Her.

Urgently, he stepped closer. "Are you certain? Was it Nomasaki? Could you sense her?"

"Hmm? Is that why you're in such haste?"

Narrowing his eyes grimly, he averted his glance from the tanuki. "They have her – Tenbu. She was taken captive. I have to save her before it's too late!" He looked back to meet its eyes again, his expression firm and unmoving. "They're planning on using her as a sacrifice for a forbidden jutsu… I have to stop them, _I must_."

Sensing the courage in his ringed-eyes, Shukaku leaned closer towards the human that stood before it. It had been two years since they parted ways, near five years since they parted souls – but Shukaku could still see through his emotions. His eyes were a dead giveaway. Within them, there was no fear, no contempt, no hatred. Shukaku could plainly see trust, bravery, and most surprisingly – love. He wondered if it were the same human, remembering the scared child who would rampage and the brooding monster who thirsted for blood. The man before him had grown, and it was a true sign that the years had indeed shaped him. _A Kazekage he was born to be_ , the beast thought. Accepting his words, the beast nodded.

"Then I suggest you proceed with caution… take a tailed-beast's word and don't let down your guard. Those beast-people are unlike any I've sensed." Pointing a claw to his chest, the tanuki narrowed its eyes. "As much as I despise the Fourth and his blasted Gold Dust, you're of his blood. You have his Magnet-Release flowing in your veins, am I not mistaken?"

Surprised, Gaara stood with eyes wide. _Where was the beast getting at_ , he wondered. Meeting its eyes, he gave a stern nod in silence.

"Then use it." Shukaku spat. "Nature energy may be strong, but with magnet-release integrated into your Ultimate Defence, they won't stand a chance – but use it sparingly! It takes up enough chakra… for humans, at least."

Finding it in him to show gratitude in such a pressing time, a small smile found its way upon his lips. "It's not like you to give advice unprovoked. I'll heed your word, then."

Taking his leave, he strode past the towering creature of sand on his path towards the treacherous wastes. It was mere hours away, and not a minute to spare. The reinforcements were tailing him, planning to arrive as soon as they were able. No word from Konoha had reached Suna when he departed, but he held hope that someone – anyone – would answer the call. He had only hope left.

"Runt," Shukaku spoke, watching his back. "You love her, don't you? That wolf-girl."

Stopping upon the sands, he did not turn back. "Yes… I do."

The beast let out an amused scoffed laughter, catching the corner of his eye from its jeering. " _Keh_ \- I always knew! Even back then, I could feel it… The way you looked at her spoke a thousand words. Wolves are far worse than foxes, but even a tanuki can learn to tolerate a beast such as that… given time, of course." As the grains of sand began to fall from its body, the tanuki gave a parting glance before being swallowed by the sea of sands below. "Come back alive and maybe we can talk once more… Gaara the Kazekage!"

In a quaking rumble, the giant tanuki melted into the sands below. Billowing, the large mass rumbled under the sands back into the recesses from which it came. Watching the one-tail disappear into the vast sands of the orange desert, Gaara turned himself back towards the horizon at his back. The wastes were standing still, their twisting curves lumbering over the land like a valley of death and stone. He was close. Darkness clouding the dimming skies, time was of the essence.

As the winds rose around him, he vanished into his sand towards where death lay.

* * *

Awake, her body twitched in shocks of pain as they rumbled through every nerve.

For hours Nomasaki lay writhing in silence as the glowing ores forbade her rest. Small electric-like pulses thundered through every open wound, her muscles unable to move at her will. It felt as if the very life were being sucked out of her. Biting her lip, she forced herself up. She fell. Gritting her teeth, she felt the blood leak from her lip as she managed to rise to her elbows. Falling to her side, her heavy panting was all that could distract her from her sorry state. She was done for. Her life was as good as gone – her mission a failure. Moro and Sohei were dead, the others, too.

Her thoughts clanging in a foul stirring within her insomniac mind, she remembered the scattered tales of Ishigakure from the Suna elders, Zenken of the Wastes, and her father from his stories and letters. For centuries, there had been conflicts between Yama and Ishi before either had become an established shinobi territory, the latter village being the ones to nearly wipe her clan's existence from the face of the earth. In a great war generations before her time - the First Shinobi War, the Yamamori and an unknown clan hailing from Ishi fought for many days and many nights, with the Yamamori facing defeat by a dawn laced with blood.

 _It must have been them_ , she thought, _the Kumatsume_.

The bear-people.

Since the defeat near one hundred years ago, and the Yamamori had since been heralded as a bad omen by her mountain-folk. Some were said to have fled to other lands out of fear of the hunt by more enemies, while the few and brave remained in their mountain homeland. Disease would claim those who stayed, as her mother told her one day on the front porch of her home as she asked about her grandparents. A fever swept through the mountains many years ago, taking many with it in its cruel wake, both villager and Yamamori alike - including her grandparents whom she had never met. Eventually, years later, her mother would be another victim. She still remembered the great fire of her funeral pyre, her tears hot on her cold cheeks while few villagers remained to mourn with the orphaned wolf-child. By Tenbu's foul luck, a fever did not claim the wolf they chased after.

 _Curse them... curse them all..._

If she were captured back then by the first who sought her those seven years ago, this would have been her untimely fate. Tenbu had planned carefully. Hiding under the guise of a village certainly took Sunagakure by surprise - Ishigakure more so. For years they chased her, sought her, tracked her, and now she was theirs. Caged in her jade prison, she was the key to restoring the power of the Kumatsume - and the key to the end of the Kazekage dynasty. Death was staring her in the face in the shadows, its looming presence taunting her with each breath she wasted in hopelessness.

 _No,_ she forced herself up again, _I refuse to die here!_

Gnashing her fanged teeth, she once again pushed herself to her limits, "I… have to get out of here -! Ungh -!"

The jolts of pain were too great.

Jade pulses zapped through her and around her between the ginkō ore of the barrier, glowing eerily in the blackened and dimmed cave light. Every movement rippled through her core, travelling from her fingertips to her scar and writhing down her ribs to the pit of her stomach. Not since that day she was given the scar had she faced such terrible pain. A movement in her pants pocket struck her memory. Clanging against the single kunai she had in her holster on her thigh, she heard the glass ring silently. Glancing down towards it in desperation, she could see a glimpse of the flask, the sands inside swirling viciously in its prison. Gaara's gift to her only months ago. _"If you ever find yourself in danger and I'm not there, please use it. That way, I can always protect you."_. His words ringing within her memories, racing for a plan.

She had to do something – _anything_ – whether it was rash or not.

Her hand twitched painfully as she pushed herself towards the pocket. Wincing, she stilled. Breathing steadily, she felt the canines once absent from her jaws grow within with each breath. She had to be brave – strong - unafraid. Remembering the wolves of that pack, her mind raced behind her closed eyes. Her wolfish nature calming her, Hanone's words shining through. _Wolves do not fear,_ she remembered, _wolves devour fear._

Eyes opening, she forced her hand to glide against the oily black stone. The jolts stabbed through her as her fingers clung to the curves of the cave floor, pressing for the far-off pocket she saw within her grasp. The pain rumbled through her once more.

 _Wolves do not fear, wolves devour fear. Wolves do not fear, wolves devour fear._

Sweeping the black fold of the pocket, the flask moved farther from her fingertips. Gnashing her emerging canines, she pressed further, grazing against the flask's seal with her nails. She was so close to grasping it, if only her body did not feel as if it were on fire. Edging again, she stretched her pained arm as far as her body would allow. She could almost taste the sand.

 _Wolves do not fear, wolves devour fear!_

Holding the flask within her trembling fingers, she let out a pained grunt as she smashed the glass container against the blackened stone. Her palm bloodied by the shattered glass, she watched as the sand swirled and punctured each of the glowing ginkō ores of the barrier. All at once in a blinding jade blur, the sands burst the ores, their presence and energy vanishing with a heavy breath and explosion of golden grains.

Breathing easily, Nomasaki bit her lip as she pulled out the glass from her punctured palm. One by one, the broken shards sprinkled against the oily black stone. Looking down at her palm, the cuts formed rivers of red onto her skin. She could care less about the scarring. She already knew the sting of glass, the scars from her beast-ridden rampage still fresh on the skin of her human back. Ripping her sleeve, she carefully wrapped the black fabric around her hand and closed it with a knot.

"There… at least the pain is dulled."

Her limb still ached from her wound suffered in the ambush. Luckily, it did not fester. Examining it, she sighed in relief as she noticed the wound was closed and pink with healing. Although her thigh still throbbed when she moved it. If she were to fight, her speed would be hindered. She had to play out her escape carefully, as blind to chakra as she now was. Trying to stand, she felt a strange warmth course through her veins subtly, silently as if a distant wind. It roused her, gave her a moment's courage, and left as she exhaled. Surprised by the feel, she felt herself ache with longing.

 _The blood, the blood._

Her heart plead internally for her intuition to be true.

Grappling onto her scarce hope, she stood on her wobbly feet. There were no others in the cavern as she scanned it, no one to see her emerge from her prison of crystal. It appeared the desert gods she ignored granted her the fair luck of no one hearing the blast either – or perhaps the god of death she evaded allowed his hand to slip. She had no room left in her heart for any such faith – not even fate had any room. She had to believe in herself, for she was all she had left.

A glimmer on the far side of the blackened cavern caught her eyes. Her katana was propped up against the wall, the blade still intact and unbroken. Beside it, her scratched forehead protector sat still, the dirt still evident from her collapse on the mud. A deep intent near split the Sunagakure emblem in two, the rest of the evidence from the strike dried above her brow. Hastily, she pushed herself to run. Tying the forehead protector around the belt loop of her pants, she grabbed the sword firmly in her wounded hand. Her sheath was missing, but she had to make do with what she had – she had no choice.

Something shuffled in the darkness.

Whipping her head towards the noise in alert, she met the terrified glance of a girl a few years her junior. She stood sheepishly between the shadows and the dim candlelight, her mismatched garbs and sunk-in features illuminated for her to see. It was a different one than earlier, she reminded herself. Letting down her guard, she stepped forward before the girl could flee from the frightening woman with the blade.

"You there - come." Nomasaki called after her. Luckily, the girl shyly turned back, pausing in front of the light. "What is your name?"

The girl met her eyes timidly, fear lingering within their green hue. "Sana."

"Are you of the Kumatsume?"

Sana nodded hesitantly, shame growing in her glance. "Yes… I am a servant of Koga-sama and Kenzō-sama… their kin-folk."

Examining her from the distance between them, Nomasaki noticed a leather brace enclosed around the girl's pale neck. It was near shielded by the matted dark hair that fell over her bruised shoulders, its silver hoop gleaming subtly in the dark. It gave her a bitter feeling.

"That brace around your neck," She pressed, her eyes saddening. "Are you a slave?"

Averting her dulled eyes from the stranger, the girl nodded. She grasped the silver hoop painstakingly, her dark hair shielding her expression of shame. "My people are sworn to serve. We were taken as captives during the exile and forced to work in these mines for years – for ginkō ore. Some of us haven't even seen the sun…"

Nomasaki's gut churned in disgust. Slavery had been abolished generations ago, long before her time. The last slavers of the continent were chased off by the valiant efforts of the Five Great Nations, but lands a world away were rumored to still profit from its cruelty and exploits. Anywhere beyond the silver waters of the shinobi lands were deemed a dangerous territory of such criminals. It was unheard of to meet a slave in person, let alone a slave within the continent from which it was free and considered a great crime. They were unspeakable monsters, Tenbu were – monsters coated in the flesh of humans. They were no better than wolves in sheep's clothing to their own kin, preying on the weak. Enslaving their own clansmen to work the mines - purely despicable.

Her impulsive nature getting the better of her, her mind hatched a desperate idea.

"Let me free you,"

"Please, don't -!" The girl pleaded, stepping back. "If either Koga-sama or Kenzō-sama find out, they'll surely kill us – they'll punish us, beat us."

"I can help you… trust me," Nomasaki assured, her eyes kind and heart begging. She found herself placing a palm over her chest, as if to convince the girl otherwise. "I'm of Sunagakure, I know the Kazekage - and my father is the chieftain of Yamagakure. We can help your people -,"

Nervously, the girl looked up to her with wide green eyes. The fear was still there, but there was a glimmer of hope she had not yet seen. She could tell by the look from her eyes that they were cut from a similar cloth, one that was beaten and berated by Kenzō and his schemes – but it was the growing hope and courage that warmed her. She felt as if she were looking at a version of her former self, propelling her to help the girl as much as she was able.

Nomasaki grazed the blade against her neck, eyeing her cautiously. "Do you trust me?"

Swallowing her fear, the girl shut her eyes tightly with a nod. Swinging the blade in an air-like motion, the leather brace fell to the cave floor with a heavy clacking noise. Clutching her neck with a gasp for air, the girl frantically traced the freedom she felt. It were as if she had never breathed freely before. Reaching into her holster's pocket where the flask once lay, she pulled out her last kunai and held it to her handle-first. With wide and curious eyes, Sana observed it carefully from afar with a scared child-like wonder to her glance.

"Take this kunai and free every slave you see. Escape as soon as you can – don't let them catch you – just run!"

Timidly, the girl clasped it into her cold and burnt hands. Nomasaki could tell by the way her eyes looked at the weapon that she never wielded such a thing before. It would not be used for killing – it would be used for justice. The Kumatsume patriarch will be losing all his slaves that early morning, a fair price for his vile disregard for the world around him and all those he made suffer.

Looking up with worried and frightened eyes, the girl watched as Nomasaki walked past her into the shadows. "What will you do?"

Coming to a pause before the darkness, Nomasaki's narrowed violet eyes stared down the path she had chosen. Holding the hilt of the blade tightly in her stinging hand fresh with cuts, she knew what she must do, shedding the shroud that her mask once gave her. She was a shinobi, she remembered, and all the fear she once held had finally left her. For the first time in days, her blood began to boil. Her path of the shadows called her to face her enemy and she stepped onward.

"I will fight."


	64. The Blood of A Wolf

_**Author's Note (2020/05/04):**_ Hey everyone! I hope everyone is doing well during these difficult times. I am nearing completion of this story after nearly 1.5 years of posting and rewriting the original fic that was uploaded to Quizilla back in 2009 (and it's such a drastically written story, 12 year old me was definitely no fanfiction author lol WayBack Machine luckily has it in the archive so I had a good laugh). I hope you are enjoying reading through this story of mine on here and AO3 - and I've recently made a WattPad account so the story is now available there as well. I made the WP account because a chunk of my story's beginning was copied/pasted/plagiarized and uploaded to Web Novel - and I got nervous so this story is now being posted to WattPad to discourage any potential copy/pasting of it there. My account goes by the same name as on here (Namikaze Okami) and all my works will be now posted there as well.

About this chapter... this is where things get rough. This was a very divisive segment while I was writing it, as I had to decide what I wanted the outcome to be for the next incoming chapter as it would ultimately decide the fic's ending. We're getting close to the end, so things are starting to wrap up. I am currently projecting a few more chapters, so the story will most likely end by June.

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

 **Content** **Advisory: **_graphic violence_

* * *

 **Chapter 64  
** **The Blood of A Wolf**

* * *

The passages grew narrower as she danced amongst the shadows in swift silence.

Her eyes strained from the dark, Nomasaki clung to the stalactites above as she evaded the watchful guards clothed in their gleaming bear armor and black garbs. Their disgruntled voices reached her ear along the cave wall, echoing sentiments and grunts as they gathered in numbers and left in a large wave of shouts. The slaves were absent from the winding caverns, the large reserve of gleaming jade crystal unattended and their pickaxes, shovels, chisels, hammers, and pans discarded upon the oily black stone. All was taken except for their lanterns and torches to light their way out, leaving darkness for any guards who sought to find and stop them from their hasty escape. Sana did have the courage, after all – that was a relief. Nomasaki's goal now was to survive long enough in the caverns to meet them outside. The lands of snow and frost would be more than welcome to the bear-people if they wished to join, the land was sparse as it was sheltered. The tundra was plentiful of snow and hardship, but great-horned elk and mammoths still walked the steppes to be hunted. Sunagakure would be wise to not give in to trusting the Kumatsume so eagerly. The clan was banished from two worlds, the desert and the wastes. She could already hear the yells of the council upon the unspoken terms. Her father could help them if Gaara could not - Yama was a land born again, free from the previous hardships and bitter blood that plagued it.

Gaara.

Remembering his name struck her with guilt. She felt her heart wrench as she remembered his sweet face, the brilliant red of his hair and the gleam to his calm eyes. Unlike the familiar face of warmth that greeted her every morning upon waking, the face she saw the night before she departed was fraught with sorrow and hurt. She had to make it up to him somehow. Returning to Suna alive would be a sure-fire way, she reminded herself.

* * *

Bounding against the dark, the flecks of sparkling ginkō glimmered as she ran past. The ore was an enemy to her, but it was truly a beautiful mineral. At least its light within the cave was showing her a path against the shadows. Running through the dimly lit darkness was not what scared her, but the absence of the chakra she once felt. Her blood was boiling warmly under her skin, each slap of wind against her blood-stained cheeks reminding her of it. No wolf had come. Scaling up the walls with a leap, she bounded down a passage shrouded in complete darkness.

The surface had to be near, it just had to.

Stepping into the darkened chamber cautiously, she heard no noise other than the sounds of her faint footsteps echoing off the twisted walls. Holding the katana in both hands, she stepped backward and kept her wits about her. Only shadow greeted her, but the feeling that she was being watched crept over her like a hand to her throat, squeezing the life out of her. Breathing steadily, she scanned the darkness around her.

"I knew that makeshift prison wouldn't hold you… If only Koga has sense to listen."

Alarmed, she whipped her head towards the vile voice, her spine shivering from its haunting memory. Readying the blade towards it, she prepared her defensive stance with hands tight against its hilt.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to slither your way up here." The voice mused, grimly. "It must be a strange thing for you – unable to use those senses of yours you hold so dearly."

"Kenzō…" She barked, her muscles tensing. "So it's true, you did escape that night."

The voice echoed across the chamber, shrouded by the expanse of shadow. "It took some careful planning but yes, I did." She followed the voice with her blade, focusing her hearing on where he may be lurking. "Those Sleeper Agents of mine certainly turned out to be useful… even Sasori of the Red Sands must be spinning in his grave knowing how well I perfected his infamous technique – as I cast the jutsu for him on his behalf from time to time. Being a missing-nin made it difficult for the poor boy to return, unable to cast it himself..."

Gritting her teeth, she felt the shadow bounce again. Her blood growing restless, she stepped cautiously around the darkness, her eyes narrowed towards the voice of the snake. Fear no longer coated them as they once did in his presence, but a cold rage.

"Judging by that look in your eyes, it appears they were well-disguised. I had some as civilians, some as shinobi, some as simple-minded guards, and even some in the council, sitting by the young Kazekage for years."

She felt a gasp pass her lips. Before she had a chance to utter words, the shadow crept closer in the dark. Pushing it back, she blocked its block with her blade. Her feet skid across the cave floor as she held her stance, the shadow disappearing into the dark and bounding away.

"As an outsider who arrived at Sunagakure's doorstep some time ago, I proved myself useful to the village, yes – but knowledge is power, and power becomes tempting. To have power… that is what I sought. For years, I labored hard… pushed myself to earn the respect and trust of those fools… The Fourth Kazekage was just one of many. His son was just as much of a fool – far too trusting. He trusted you, after all… and you were my tool for a time."

Her heart pounded from what he was saying. The darkness added to it, her lack of vision creeping into her grasp of reality. The shadows danced and bounded, and she countered as swiftly as she could. If her powers returned, seeing in the dark would be as easy as counting to twenty. But all she could do was hold out for a light that would never come. Suddenly, she felt the old fear she held towards the traitor return. The unfamiliar feeling washed over her, prickling her skin as if they were crows circling a carrion.

The shadow suddenly bounded against the oily stone of black, holding her by the chin with its cruel and cold fingers. "I must say, Sasori-sama was quite pleased with the information I relayed to him on the Kazekage those many years ago… and he was especially pleased to learn of the intel I gathered from _you_ – my precious little spy." His grip tightened onto her, the dark of his eyes meeting hers finally. "You may not have been a Sleeper Agent, but you certainly served me well despite your eventual defiance. The Akatsuki got the Shukaku – and I got all the gold I could've desired… all thanks to you."

"No!" She slashed at him, regaining her strength. The shadow leapt away from her, stalking her in the darkness. "That's a lie! That's not true -!"

"Sweet little spy," Kenzō laughed. "All the intel you gathered not only went to me – it went to my enemies. The Akatsuki were just amongst them." She heard his footsteps faintly against the stone, creeping up to her again. "To play the game of power, you must play your cards carefully… or else you'll spell your end."

"Just as you did." She spat through her fanged teeth. "You were caught!"

"And you were pardoned, may I ask why? Ah yes, that's right…" He sighed, amused by the disgruntled shinobi in his presence. "You loved him. You - the wolf-girl… you've fallen for the very one I've asked you to kill. That abomination of a failed jinchuriki, coupled with his pet… it makes me disgusted." She heard his footsteps get closer. "And what did you do? You betrayed me. You killed my right-hand, my successor... dumping his body into the river... You defied your commands, going against your sworn oath to me!" The shadow circled her as if a black-winged vulture, its presence preying over hers. "You lacked the courage. You lacked the duty. You are no shinobi – and you are certainly no tool. You are nothing but a pathetic shard of those foolish wolf-people who near howled themselves into extinction! You come from a clan of beastly fools. Your father - the honorless halfwit - sits on that mountain a bigger fool than any, sacrificing his birthright to be with savages…-," His footsteps paused in their circling. "… as he once did with that bitch of a mother of yours -,"

She struck the shadow with the butt of the blade, knocking the shape away before it could grasp her again. "Insult me all you want – but _never_ insult my family!" She shouted, her fangs growing. "I'm not the same frightened girl you once knew… I can promise you that!"

The darkness stilled.

"Koga was a brutish fool back then... Invading Yamagakure so hastily… it cost him his seat of power and the respect of our clansmen. I told him to wait but he would have none of it." His voice grew haggard, rage filling the icy tone. "Since you came to Sunagakure, I was patiently waiting for the day where our paths could cross. To have your sensory skills at my disposal was a gift from the gods, it seemed. Knowing what our plans were for you and that crevice of a village, we wanted to use you for all that you were worth. But it seems that beasts can't easily be tamed… and they will eventually betray their masters."

A flame suddenly appeared at his open hand across from her, his narrowed eyes and grisly expression visible from the cover of the shadows. Her heart flinched in her chest, her violet eyes taken aback by the sight of the fire. Visions of her ravaged home of the past flashed before her eyes. Blinking them away, she faced him.

"I heard you're not fond of fire… how fitting. Does it remind you of something, I wonder?" He grinned under his frayed white beard. "Perhaps a memory of home? I can gladly make arrangements to reunite you with your she-wolf of a mother... in due time."

Her grip on her blade stiffened.

"That tanuki-eyed bastard of a leader you hold so dear severed my hand… Before you are sacrificed, I'll do the same to you!"

Flame shot out towards her in a great stream, engulfing the shadows in its wake.

Tumbling, she rolled from its impact, barely missing her arm. The wild orange fires coursed from his palm as if a great whip, as long and solid as the toughest iron, crackling the black stone underneath where it struck. A whip for its beast, it seemed. How fitting. Forcing herself to stare at the flames, she cast her fear aside. Fire was her enemy – but so was Kenzō. She had to vanquish both of them, no matter the cost. She may have lacked the wolfish strength she once had, but she was a shinobi above all. She had to remember.

"You can't run from me forever!"

It was just like that day years ago.

Tumbling away from that hulking Kumogakure shinobi in the arena, she ran from his fire as fear swelled into her, choking at her breaths. But that was a different time – and she was now a woman grown and a genin no longer. Survival was her drive, and that was her key. She had to face her fears, stare death in the face, and never give up – for she was a shinobi.

Again, the fire was sent towards her, crackling against the still cool air like a rippling firework of death, the shadows fraying between them as she met his cold dark eyes of deceit. Shielding the strike with her blade, Nomasaki felt her body get knocked away from its stance, her feet skidding against the greasy blackened stone. The power of the fiery whip was too great, its ferocity billowing over her.

Dodging its next advance, she bounded through the shadows as she tried to outrun its path of fury. Fighting fire was bad enough but fighting it in the shallow darkness was truly a different struggle to behold. She wanted to scream from the inside for her blood to boil, for her instincts to scream back, for a howl to pass her lips – anything. The canines in her jaws were all she had aside from her katana, and she was too far to bite.

The whip of fire cracked the stalactites above, her frantic mind pushing her to bound further into the darkness. Crashing into the blackened cave floor, the twisted daggers of rock fell, exposing the faint glimmers of jade ginkō from its prison. The cavern sudden gained a dim light, her vision breaking through the darkness to see his strikes. Dodging its crackling beam, she felt her arm singe as she regained her footing. Her sleeve was burnt to the skin, her flesh pink and steaming. A minor burn, but a burn nonetheless.

"Shit -!" She grunted. Gritting her teeth, she formed hand-signs as she ran, the hilt of the blade held to her breast by her folded arms.

Pouring out from the cave's hidden stream, a great stream of water was summoned towards her black-garbed foe. Sensing the attack, he formed a single hand-sign with his only hand, his empty sleeve whipping in the winds around him. With a rumbling shout, a massive wall of fire struck the water with a loud thunder, a thick mist dissipating between them in the cavern of gleaming jade and red death.

Dashing through the mists with her blade readied, she clutched the hilt with all her strength as a snarling shout escaped her curled lips. Her feral anger had awoken. Unsheathing a blade from his armed sleeve, Kenzō's weapon struck hers with a loud ear-piercing clinging, ringing in the dead air between them as they locked glares into each other's eyes.

"It's going to take more than a katana to kill me," He grinned at her glaring face.

Suddenly, her blood boiled within. Twisting and snarling, her face morphed slowly into the true creature she was. The wolf was emerging. Strength found its way into her veins, her blade pushing against his and cutting into its steel with her own.

"What the - ?! You filthy _beast_ \- !"

Gnashing his teeth, Kenzō tightened his hand's grip on the hilt of his katana, pushing himself away and lunging forward with its point. He saw a weak spot in the small of her belly, her arms positioned away. Seeing his tactic, she remembered the day she fought and killed Tojiru, the unforgiving and vile companion she had in her early days as a tracker-nin. The memory of his bloodied and grinning vulpine mask haunted her. It seemed as though it were a lifetime ago. The wind of his blade's incoming strike flickered against her face in brief waves as his movements slowed within her sight. Dodging his stab by a hair, he sliced through the dead air and left no time to react. Just as Tojiru did those four years ago.

She saw her chance.

Grasping his wrist with all the feral strength she could muster, she twisted the blade from his hand, severing it clean off. The crack of his bone echoed throughout the chamber, accompanied by his wails of bloodcurdling pain. Collapsing to his knees as his wrist had become a bloodied stump, he shook as he glared up at her through the lingering long strands of grey and white. Standing over him with a cold glint to her eyes, Nomasaki held both katanas, her face eerily calm and human.

The blood of a wolf was hers and hers alone.

"You bitch -! You dare rebel against me -?!" He shouted. "You'll die here, I swear it! Curse you and your horrid clan! If only Tojiru killed you as I asked – or Raigo, that blundering oaf of a half-brother! I should have strangled the life out of you years ago, you blasted -!?"

"You were right, Kenzō-sama," Nomasaki said, her voice even and eyes cold as ice. "It's just as you said before… I am a beast – and a beast has no master."

Slowly, she rose the blades towards his neck in the shape of a cross, the cold steel grazing his aged and cracked skin. A sliver of crimson leaked from his flesh where one of the blades kissed him, dripping onto the immaculate gleaming steel. Looking up into her eyes was an expression he never saw from her before. She was as still and as silent as a ghost, a wolf with cold violet eyes. He could only see his only reflection within them, even the look of fear he held and his trembling body. He was not one to know fear, only administer it to others. He had lost all his power, his authoirty, all his beloved spies and tracker-nin - and now he was nothing. A miserable pile of flesh and bone. Being afraid was something he thought purely alien and inhuman. His aged heart of betrayal swelled with an intense wave of pain and shock, the fear near choking him as he stood on his knees.

"You should've remembered," She spoke, her gaze unmoving. " _'We don't take kindly to traitors'_... Isn't that right?"

"No! You were mine!" He cried out. "You were my tool -!"

Her eyes narrowed in a calm contempt, the wolf within her snarled through the violet. "I was never yours!"

The slash echoed through the cavern's blackened walls as if a dirge. Bouncing onto the oily stone, Kenzō's bloodied head rolled as his corpse fluttered like a reed in the winds, collapsing with a faint thud as the blood burst into the skill air, tainting her blades that committed the loathsome deed.

Dead.

He was finally dead.

Justice arrived, with the judgement as swift as the winds would permit.

To behead someone was the ultimate dishonor, and Kenzō deserved no such honors worthy of an honorable death. Seppuku would not grace him, nor the ever-merciless god of death. The Pure Land was forever out of his reach, and rightfully so. Purgatory was his destiny, as was the ground where he would rot for all time. Spiteful, Nomasaki eyed the headless body as crimson painted the cave floor. Dropping one of the blades, she kept the one in her right-hand – the one she arrived with. She would be leaving with it soon enough. Despite knowing he was dead, a part of her still tinged with the fear that he would once again wake.

Only in her nightmares was that possible now.

Surprising her as she scanned the chamber, the glimmering pulses of the ginkō tinged her scar faintly as she felt her mind echo with the fibers of chakra. Startling herself, she caught herself breathing aloud, her senses detecting chakra clearly for the first time as if in ages. The relief soon turned to foreboding. Turning from the corpse, she started down the chamber further, fleeing from the jade lights. Dancing once more along the shadows, it felt as if the chamber had no end in sight. Only dark awaited her. Alarming her, her senses detected a sinister presence all around her, screaming at her internally to flee. But where? All around her was shadow, her hands clinging to the twisted black rock as she fumbled for a door, a passage, a way out – anything.

Nothing.

The chakra was closer than ever, its seediness looming over her in its grip. Swallowing her pride, she turned back defensively with her blade, both hands grasping it tightly. Feeling bold, she stepped forward. She knew she had to fight – and their shadow was egging her on. Pausing on the black stone at her feet, she prepared her stance as their chakra made its inevitable entrance.

Just as she suspected…

"Good, sacrifice." Koga mused, stepping into the dark. Only the glint of his sinister dark eyes was visible, striking a brief fear into her heart that she was seeing Kenzō back from the grave. "I'm surprised you made it this far, to be truthful. I wondered why my mines suddenly fell empty and grew silent… you freed my slaves! I'll have to punish you for that, since I couldn't find one to face judgement." The darkness edged closer, her grip on the blade tightening from its encroaching presence. "It appears you've slain my brother as well… He was getting on my nerves, truth be told – but I would have greatly needed his counsel when I take that desert throne for myself."

The shadows around them quelled, their glares locked onto one another. While she stood armed with her katana in her tattered clothes and dried blood, he stood across from her a distance away with his arms at his sides. His dark eyes unmoving, unsettling.

"Your death is going to be a slow and painful one, wolf."

"I could care less about that," Nomasaki barked. "You're the one who's going to die here! I can't let you carry out your plans!" She pointed the blade towards him, her violet eyes narrowing like the beast she truly was. "I'm a shinobi – I've made my oaths, and I'm going to see them through!"

Before she could tell herself what was happening, Koga pulled down his sleeve, the menacing inscriptions along his palm throbbing and glowing as she took it in with her own eyes. It was the forbidden jutsu she remembered from earlier, her fate. The Reverse Sealing.

He gave a dire grin. "With one foot in the grave?" He clutched his palm closed.

All she saw was red.

In a burst of bloodied light, the floor under her sudden turned blind. Moving in snake-like motions, the red traveled to the center of the encompassing seal formula where she stood. She unknowingly walked right into their trap, senses or no – it was undetectable.

Her body fell to the cave floor of red as she screamed, red bolts of electric death spiraling around her. With a clang, the katana struck the ground by her face, unnoticed by its writhing wielder. The pain was worse than she could have ever imagined. Agony overtook her, shaking her, striking her, ripping at her until there was nothing left. Her wails of pain echoed throughout the cavern, her limbs and muscles trembling as her body refused to move to her will. Desperately, she tried to lift herself from the black stone agleam with red, but the jolts of death shot through her. Traveling from her fingertips up her arm, through her scar, into the curve of her neck, into her jaw, and down her spine – she felt her blood wretch and boil and wretch again. Her eyes were sealed shut, but her tears wet her bloodied cheeks, the suffering overcoming all her senses.

The wolf was dying.

Dying.

Watching her cling to her life filled Koga with lust, his eyes narrowed in pleasure. "The Reverse Sealing will surely kill you within the hour. What hope can you have of stopping me when you're dead?" A deep growl of a laugh escaped his lips as he watched her writhe in pure agony. "Your kekkei genkai and nature energy are as good as mine!"

Screaming, her throat turned raw and throbbing, her mouth unable to stop the sounds that were escaping it. Tossing and turning, her limbs trembled with each jolt and her heart pounded until it was the only sound to grace her ears. Gnashing her fanged teeth, she tried to supress her wailing but to no avail. The pain shot through her as if a thousand knives have pierced her, twisting and twisting at every ounce of skin she had.

Her vision suddenly turned white, the pain disconnecting her from her reality…

* * *

 _It was snowing, she could see it clearly above her in the realm of white._

 _Laying on her back, Nomasaki felt no pain, no suffering, no anything. It was as if it were a bad dream, a nightmare of terrifying proportions. The snow felt like cold feathers against her warm cheeks, melting into her as they made contact. It was so peaceful…_

"… _My child… you've grown tired…"_

 _Before the snow that fell, a calming silhouette appeared. Dressed in a flowing kimono, the red and gold that gathered in its seams reflected in the light as the woman's shape became clear to her. The woman's face was hidden by the light, but she could see the vibrant and lovely golden hair that was swung over her shoulder as she reached out to grasp Nomasaki's hand._

"… _How I've missed you… my dear child…"_

 _Memories came pouring back to her as her eyes grew wet with tears. That voice, the red dress, the soft long hair of woven gold – there was no questioning to who it was. Nomasaki's heart longed for it to be a lie, her tears running down her cheeks in silence._

"… _Mother…?" She asked, quietly. "Is that… you…?"_

 _Reaching out to her, the woman sweetly smiled. Her eyes were still hidden from view, the white light and the snows proving a great shroud between them. "It's time to come home… Come home…"_

 _The more she looked at the creature before her, the more she felt her blood boil in anger. The tears turned bitter, stinging her eyes as she realized the genjutsu had its grip onto her. She wanted to scream, to cry out in fury. It was all a lie – the snow, her mother. She could not see her face, but she was certain it was not the mother she knew and loved those years ago. A monster, a figment of her imagination - an illusion. Death was waiting for her outside, the genjutsu acting as a gateway to her fate._

" _Mother… How dare they…!" She spat through her gnashed teeth, her violet eyes wide in hurt and anger. "Curse them, the bastards…"_

 _Looking up into the white snowy skies that hailed above her gently, she realized what must be done. Biting her lip, she cleansed herself of her rage and sorrow. Closing her eyes, she refused to meet the face of the motherly illusion any longer. Accepting it, she calmed herself into the white and the snows._

" _I'm sorry… I won't be seeing you any time soon…"_

* * *

The blood leaked slowly from her mouth as she let out a pained cough.

On her knees, the katana was thrust into her abdomen's left side, her trembling hands still on its hilt. "You're… not getting my chakra -!"

Gritting her teeth in held agony, the taste of iron overcame her, coating her chin in its paint. She was not sure if she stabbed a vital area or not, but she made her gamble to escape the jutsu regardless how much of a hasty fool she had been. She refused to lend him her strength, and her life. The wolf's blood within her boiled under her skin, its feral instincts snarling at the man before her. She felt the wound pulse. Her strength leaving her, Nomasaki collapsed to her side, the red oozing slowly from her wound as the blade remained in her, gleaming against the black stone painted in blood.

Stopping the Reverse Sealing, Koga gasped in disgruntled shock as he realized what happened. "You blasted fool -!"

Before he had a chance to take action against his bleeding captive, a sudden burst of sand swept through the chamber, sweeping over him in its might and fury. His yells were silenced quickly, the sands whisking him away through the darkened passages in a roaring violence. A haze of shattered blackened rock and stone swept with them, twisting and turning into the pit of darkness while his screams echoed against the oiled cave walls.

He was gone.

"Nomasaki!"

Groggily, her fading vision turned towards the chakra she sensed nearby. They moved towards her within the winds of sand, the grains whisking against her stained face and hair. The figure was in front of her knelt down with their arms under her, holding her in its warmth of maroon and urgency. Bringing herself to look up at their eyes, she saw the familiar blackened rings and turquoise she loved and the face that claimed them. Looking down at her with eyes full of concern and panicked hurt, Gaara stayed silent as he saw her dulled violet eyes. Her blood leaked onto his hands as he held her, staining his grip.

"Ga… Gaara…" She breathed, weakly, her eyes barely opening. "Is that you…?"

The way she looked up to him with her bloodied and faint smile haunted him of memories past. The death of Yashamaru suddenly entered his subconscious, his heart wrenching inside his chest as he sensed the severity of her wounds. Death. He could see it. Shutting his eyes tightly to hold back his sorrows, his grip onto her strengthened. Hanging his head low near hers, his shaggy crimson hair masked his grief and dread.

"I'm sorry I took so long…"

Gingerly and with great care, he lifted her into his arms as he and his sands burst through the cave ceiling, leaving the darkness of the cavern behind.


	65. Shield and Halberd

_**Author's note (2020/05/11):**_ Hi everyone, thank you all for reading! I hope this chapter is good, it was a challenge to write being that it's a transitory chapter to the final battle of the story - so it took a while to figure out the structure and dialogue ( _being that this is one of the original chapters I had to rewrite from scratch_ ). This story is getting harder to write the farther I get lol we're over 260,000+ words in and there is still 6-7 chapters left.. oof.

I've also recently hit a snag in my writing, so I'm taking a 2 week break from updates so I can tackle the writer's block head-on without worrying about an illusionary deadline. I'm feeling burnt out on my writing creatively ( _I want to write an original story soon and I also write and record songs/music_ ), so i feel "written out" or so to speak. I feel taking a short break would benefit me for the long haul, as I want to finish this story and my others I have planned.

Lockdown is weird and boring, so I hope you are all safe and healthy during these strange times.

Thanks for reading! xx

* * *

 _ **Content Advisory**_ : mentions of violence and/or suicide

* * *

 **Chapter 65  
** **Shield and Halberd**

* * *

The wastes were grey hills of death and dread that early morning.

Dawn had not yet broken, the skies still dark and grey with the fading moonlight as the sun made no chance to break from the horizon. A pure wasteland by every definition, the Land of Claws was constantly shrouded in a dense lifeless fog of brutality. Across the sparse lands, there was no water, no forests, and no signs of civilization anywhere within the wastes. All that covered the landscape was earth devoid of fertility and the scattered bones of human travellers and cattle who met their demise. Even the desert lands of the Land of Wind had vegetation in cacti and sprawling shrubs, with small pools and the odd oasis hidden within the vast dunes. But they were a far cry from Sunagakure.

Ishigakure was a day on foot from where they took refuge, away from any scouts or backup from the nearby village of the barbarian-folk under the elder Zenken. Even Ishi feared the wastes to some degree, and Tenbu had them alert and unnerved for months. The blackened wastes where the mercenaries hid were far enough from any would-be travellers, and Ishi would seldom send their well-armed men to a mine they were not sure even existed. Hopelessness was their only company.

Behind a grand wall of twisted black rock, Gaara lay Nomasaki on her back, carefully watching over her frail and fading state with worried eyes. His heart plead desperately for her to hold on, her dulled violet eyes near closed as he looked down at her bloodied face. She had the same look to her eyes as when he saved her that day, that fateful day seven years past when he first saw her. She almost perished in the desert when he found her, her body near swallowed by the sands as the buzzards circled high above. Sitting beside her now, he felt as if he were a buzzard looking down at her grip with death. As he watched her heave silently from her lungs, he saw her chest rising and falling, each time getting fainter than the last. The blade was still punctured through her, the blood staining her black tattered clothes and his hands that held her. He had to think of something fast - or else. A Kage he might have been in power and duty, but he knew next to nothing of first aid, and the backup squadron was hours away from arriving. Seeing her breaths growing scanter as time pressed on, he grew frantic.

"Stay alive… please… Keep breathing…!" He begged, his throat beginning to swell with dread. Never had he begged for something before, he realized, but if his old desert gods were listening, he hoped they would spare him grief. "Nomasaki, hang on… just a little longer…"

What could he do - what could he possibly do? His brain wracked for a desperate answer, but none came. Her expression was riddled with coma, her eyes dulled and breathing faint. The blade shimmered in the grey light as the red coated its steel, her life slowly leaving her. Shukaku's words suddenly rang through him - Magnet Release. He knew he had no choice. If he were to save her, he had only one option left. Closing the wound was his only chance. Hatching an impulsive idea, he placed his bloodied palm over the blade's hilt. He had to be careful. If he pulled too fast, she would bleed out and die in his arms. He had to act fast with what he had concocted. Even as he touched her, she remained unconscious and unresponsive to his voice. It shattered him. Pushing back the painful memories of Yashamaru and Shinto, his grip on the katana tightened.

"I'm sorry – I have to remove the blade,"

A weak cry of pain escaped her crimson lips as he edged the blade out from her abdomen. With the other hand, Gaara pressed into the hole the blade left, forcing his sand into the fleshy crevice. Focusing his chakra, he could feel the magnetism enter his pull. Remembering Shukaku's words from the desert, he let the hidden chakra from his veins take hold. Mania, iron, power – whatever it truly was, it was all he had to try. Pouring into the minerals, the magnetizing gravity solidified the grains that entered her slashed skin. She winced as the sands closed the back of the wound, the clattering sound of her blade's steel ringing against the black earthen stone silencing her pain. Gingerly, his hand pressed into the open wound of her abdomen, his sand entering and hardening as it swirled into place. In the past, his sands had injured her, spilled her blood, lashed out at her - and now those sands were vying to save her life. Gritting his teeth, he pushed his power into her as he saw the blood no longer pooling. He shut his eyes tightly in desperation as the sands quelled under his stained hand, the wound closing.

The silence was deafening.

 _This had to work, it had to…_ – he thought, _please…!_

 _Please... wake up..._

 _Please..._

Startling him, he felt something cold touch his cheek. A faint smile etched on her lips, Nomasaki looked up at him with the vibrance slowly returning to her eyes, the purple regaining the life it near lost. At first he feared it were a ghost, but the ghost had the touch of the living and not the dead. Death missed its chance at her for another day. Meeting her face, his heart swelled with relief.

"Gaara…" She spoke, hazily. "You're… alive -! I knew you would come… I knew it," Her smile grew warmer as she felt the pain leave her. "I… couldn't tell if what I saw was you at first… but your chakra – I could feel it… -,"

Startling her slightly, she felt his arms wrap around her, pulling her up carefully with his sands. His warmth clashed with her cold, her heart pounding inside from his touching gesture. Holding in his grief, Gaara's ringed-eyes closed tight as he held her, keeping his tears of worry at bay. He was not one to cry or show much emotion, but he was forever grateful to see her face again. He did not know what he would do if fate had other plans. Devasted was an understatement. Taking him in as her strength stabilized, she breathed in his scent and held him gingerly while her wound pulsed faintly as an afterthought.

"I'm so glad you're alright…" He said, his words low and choked. "I can't tell you how much I've worried about you…"

She nodded, her eyes closing with a smile as she rested her head on his shoulder. "As I was with you… Thank you…"

Taking in his scent once more, she felt her body flinch from the sudden realization. His warm and drawing chakra was enveloped around her, its fibers linking with hers like the fire to her ice – just as she always remembered. Comfort, warmth, protection. Breathing it in, her heart blazed. She felt as if tears would pour out from her eyes. Letting go, she stared up at him wide-eyed and relieved.

"What is it?" He asked, his expression concerned. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, smiling up at him. "It came back – my senses," Her eyes glistened as she examined her bloodied and trembling fingers before her. Perhaps the wolf was not dead after all. "Your chakra -," Meeting his glance, she nodded in sound relief. "I can feel it again – all of it! I can sense everything -,"

Jolting her, she felt a tremor seethe through her mind as she found herself looking back towards the direction of the mines. A shiver escaped her lips, her breath turning cold. Something was coming, dragging its way towards them through a billowing thunder on deaf ears. Startling her, she could not sense the Kumatsume she freed either - or Sana. Hopefully, they were safe. She did not even know what their chakra would feel like to begin with, but there was no other human presence on the winds. Only dread remained.

"We have to get out of here and wait for others –!"

A sudden shock rumbled its way from her abdomen to her shoulder. Grasping her side tightly, her fingertips remembered the blade that was thrust into her flesh. A mortal wound. Without a second thought, she pushed herself through the genjutsu to grab her blade – only to plunge it within herself. A near grapple with death - it was a last-ditch effort that teetered on suicide. She carefully examined the sands that were filled within, the grains dimly shining in the fading moonlight above them. The sands were tightly packed, solid, and as if now a part of her. The pain was still there, but it was at least bearable enough for her to breathe and move scarcely. And most importantly - she was alive. No doubt in her mind, if Gaara had not arrived in time as he did, she would have been dead.

She marveled at the sealed wound, perplexed greatly. "How did you -?"

"Magnet Release," He answered, his expression returning to its serious and stoic nature. "I used the strongest minerals I could gather in an instant and sealed the gash shut. It's impractical, but it stopped the bleeding. Once backup arrives, they can heal you properly with medical-ninjutsu."

"Backup?" She turned, hope entering her eyes. "You mean -?" Seeing him give a brief nod, she relaxed her tensed shoulders in relief. A sigh escaped her lips, her head dropping to her lap. "Thank heavens…"

Guilt marking his eyes, Gaara observed her state. All the wounds, the blood, the rips and slashes across her clothes, the scars. His heart sank to see her that way. He could not help but feel responsible, knowing the Tenbu's ultimate goal was his demise - and she suffered for it. Looking down, his shaggy red hair masked his closed eyes.

"I'm sorry…"

Catching her by surprise, she looked up to him, trying to see through the strands of auburn that hid his face. Nodding once, she averted her glance shamefully. "Trust me, I'm the one who should be apologizing…" Meeting his eyes at last, she gave a light smile. "We left on bad terms… thanks to my arguing and my... stubbornness... I'm sorry. This time, you win. I'll give you that."

Comforted for a moment, he pushed his feelings aside. They had to leave. Retreating closer to the wastes would make for a less risky move when the reinforcements arrived. While they hid by the mines, the scattered Tenbu guards could find them at any moment. A battle would inevitably be on their hands. He could handle it, but Nomasaki was still injured although conscious. The strong possibility irked him.

His eyes narrowed slightly, seriousness returning. "How are you feeling? Do you have much chakra left?"

"Yeah…" She nodded, putting on a brave face. "I'm lightheaded, but not all my strength is gone. I can still – urgh -!" Grasping her sand-ridden wound, she gnashed her teeth to shield her sprawling pain that still ruptured through her lower half. "That foul bastard… using a genjutsu on me to give over my kekkei genkai… It planted an illusion of my mother to trick me, to make me think I was entering the Pure Land… the monsters -!"

Bewildered, his eyes grew surprised. "That's why… You stabbed yourself - to end the illusion?"

A brief laugh escaped her clenched jaws. "You know as well as I do that I can't undo genjutsu on my own," She confessed, averting her eyes. "I… had to take matters into my own hands. It was… reckless of me… using the katana…"

"You did what you had to do, you're a shinobi."

"A shinobi, maybe…" She smiled, looking back to him. "But I have the blood of the wolf in me. I'm a wolf, too."

He found himself smiling back briefly. "You're right."

Turning towards the twisting hills that surrounded them before the wastes, dawn was still reluctant to make its appearance over the grey lands of death. The hills looked like claws, just as the land's namesake had been called. The air was still with impending dread, cool against them as they sat before another behind a great shadow of tall rock. Strangely, Gaara noticed a thought enter his mind as he pondered their options. It enticed him yet cursed him foolish to even entertain such a thing, but he persisted in his thoughts. He drew his attention to the dim light beyond the hellish hills.

"We should leave… and take cover before the squad from Sunagakure reaches us."

"I can sense chakra," Nomasaki nodded, her eyes stern. "But it's dimmed. We should go as quickly as we can. Urngh -!" Her ribs stiffened, reminding her of her sealed wound. The grains rubbed against her insides as if sandpaper. "Sooner than later… before we're trapped." Noticing his pause on the horizon, his silence provoked her curiosity. "Gaara?"

The sound of her voice broke his daze. Turning back towards her, he found himself averting her curious violet eyes. "It's nothing, just…" Before he knew it, the words started to spill out. "Do you remember… what you said, a few months back? The ultimatum… the one about… what the council wanted?"

She thought her heart froze from the memory.

"You said that… ' _as long as it's when we can both decide, and not the council or the advisors. If it can be our decision… and our decision only'_ …"

"Gaara," Her eyes grew as she sat stunned. "What are you… saying?"

Meeting her surprised glance, he felt his heart warm. "Nomasaki," His voice was as calm and stern as steel. _His 'Kazekage's voice'_ , she thought to herself. "When we make it back to Sunagakure after all this is settled, I'm going to... ask you a question… It's a question I wanted to ask for a while... since we were in Konoha, last time..."

Closing his ringed-eyes as he looked down, he realized the gravity of the words he was about to speak to her that dimming night. Preparing himself to bear his heart on his sleeve was unlike anything he had ever done, but at that moment, he felt as if there were no better time.

"And… you have every right to say 'no'… when I ask if…-,"

"Yes."

Surprised, he rose to meet her gaze with widened eyes. "What?" He asked, as he met her calm and tearstained face. "What did you say?"

As if shyly, a small smile painted her lips. "You're asking me to marry you, aren't you?"

"What if I am?"

Carefully, acknowledging her wounds and their faint throbbing against her, she edged herself closer to him. Softly, she took his pale hand in hers and met his eyes, her touching gesture surprising him. Meeting his turquoise eyes, a warm smile formed on her lips, her heart fluttering.

"Then I say 'yes'," She answered. "…because I love you."

Taking in her face with her words, he felt as if he realized he loved her for the first time. Her long gold hair was dirtied and matted, her face scratched and cut, and she was covered in dried blood. Even at that moment, he thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her strength, her mind, her body – everything about her pulled him in from the start. Her eyes were just as strange when they first met, but he loved the way they looked at him all the same. They were the same color of the lilacs of spring, a flower of the far eastern lands where he saw them grow. And her name was his favorite name. _'A blossom in the field'_ – a simple, quaint beauty that not even the _'demon who loves only himself'_ could resist with all his might. Wolf or not, he knew he loved her more than anything.

"Do you… mean it?" He spoke, surprised of her words. "Nomasaki… did you -?"

Smiling gently, she nodded. "Yes," She spoke, her hand gripping his gently. "Always."

Warmed, he felt his chest grow light as a smile etched its way across his lips. Hurt and dread had marked it only moments ago when death was upon them, but it was love that healed the wound. Softly, his sand moved them closer together in its comforting shield. Placing his hand on her stained cheek, he met her eyes and nodded back.

"Always."

Their lips met in silence as they embraced one another, their hearts joining as one for the first time in what seemed years. Her hold was just as comforting as he remembered, her hands gently clasped at the back of his neck as he felt her warmth pour into him. The sweet scent of her hair still lingered upon her, and her lips tasted of iron. He did not care. She was alive and that was all that mattered. Holding the back of her gold head after their lips parted, he pressed his forehead against hers.

He smiled softly. "I love you and I will always protect you… I promise."

Smiling back, her glistening eyes met his glance. After giving a loving nod, she felt a cool tinge to the air. Chilling her, she turned back towards the direction of the ginkō mines with a look of urgent dread. A presence was on the winds, circling them like a vulture to a corpse.

"We should go – now!" She said, turning back to him. "That chakra returned, and something doesn't feel right… it's dangerous -!"

Noticing her urgent eyes, he prepared his sands. "I'll take us to the hills -,"

In a blinding burst of blue fire, the wall of black stone exploded before them. Protected by the sands that enveloped them, the blast pushed them far back against the shattered barren earth, the grains skidding from the pressure. As the sands receded slowly, Gaara stood to face the enemy. Their eyes went wide with shock at the sight. Panting heavily and covered in blood, Koga stood with his fist thrust against the black stone at his side, an impact ring shattered upon its cracked surface. His clothes were ripping at the seams, his armor fallen and broken. Rising his head towards them, his darkened eyes slowly met theirs. His eyes were red with pure madness, insanity and hatred ringing true from his gaze.

"You bastard… you stole my sacrifice…" He uttered, blood leaking from his mouth as he spoke. "But no matter… I have enough of her… chakra… to use for myself…!"

Dread shuddered through them. "You're mad!" Gaara shouted while Nomasaki clung to him, standing firm in his stance. "Your ritual can't be done! Surrender now and you will have an easy death." Glaring, he met the uneasy and shifting eyes of Tenbu's leader. "You've lost this fight. Stand down and accept your fate."

Grinning, Koga moved his arm out of the shattered stone and pointed it towards them. Before their eyes, they saw the eerie red glow appear along the rivets and carvings of his veins, pooling into an inscription over his open palm. The Reverse Sealing, Nomasaki could recognize it from her imprisonment. Her eyes were haunted by its glow, her spine shuddering from the memory of the pain the jutsu caused her. Her blood, her kekkei genkai – they had it, the ones who sought her for all those years.

They lost.

Clinging to hope, she strengthened herself to be brave. Glaring towards the mad and blood-soaked foe, she narrowed her frightened eyes towards him as the wolf inside her stirred and snarled at his vile chakra. His energy was as dark and unstable as the lands around them, twisting and writhing in the air between them. Her blood shivered under her palms, her fingers tightened their grip onto Gaara's sleeve as she sat beside him on the blackened stone.

"You don't have enough of my chakra," She found herself speak through grit teeth, the fear finally leaving her. "My kekkei genkai, my blood… I'm still alive! The jutsu won't work - and you'll die from it, I know you will. Your body can't handle nature energy, I can feel it with my senses -!"

Koga snorted in rage towards her, fuming. "You'll be dead soon enough, you vile bitch…! You and that tanuki you've clung yourself onto – I'll see to that!" A grin cracking against his crimson-laden face, he closed his fist as his muscles shook from the energy. "I'll you kill together… then move onto those slaves of mine you so graciously freed! Now behold - the power of Tenbu!"

Throwing his glowing red fist into his chest, the wind turned violent and cold. Fragments of the black stone swirled, blasting towards them as the sharp cold air whipped against them. From the glowing red that surrounded Koga, his figure was swallowed by the light. In an agonizing wail, his screams changed into something inhuman. Frightened by the feel of the chakra, Nomasaki's eyes went wide with the scent of what she felt.

A beast.

"What on earth – is that?! The chakra – it's so monstrous -!"

"Stay close to me!" Gaara shouted towards her, ignoring the winds. "We have to take cover – before he blows up the mines -!"

Breaking against the winds, fine red beams of solid energy broke into the black stone around them, slashing everything they made contact within their path. Pure nature energy, she could sense it – and it was focused. Destroying everything in its wake as the violent winds whipped against them, beams made their way towards them. Before they had a chance to react, the glowing red beams were headed directly towards Nomasaki – the source of their siphoned power. Sensing their inevitable approach, Gaara's body moved before his mind could process its movement.

The air suddenly stilled.

Wide-eyed and shocked, Nomasaki looked up to him standing before her with a shield of hardened sand and minerals blocking the enemy's strike. Tiny droplets of blood sprayed against her cheek as she took in what stood in her way. Standing with his arms held out to strengthen the shield, Gaara's face cracked, the sands of his armor falling as he stood pained. The shield was strong - but not strong enough.

Sprawled like a web, the red beams of focused energy pierced into the sands and were frozen – all but one.

His body giving a pained twinge in held agony, the stray projectile was pierced through his stomach, its end thrust into the great wall of blackened stone that stood behind them, shattering the oily stone in a still silence. Her memory flickered before her, remembering that day in the snow years ago – when they faced Raigo and his lightning. Even the memory of his rescue of her in the forest of the Land of Rivers came to her mind, his back in her view while the sand protected them both. Gaara stood before her then, and nothing has changed now. He still protected her, putting his own life at risk.

Protecting her.

She felt the tears swell into her eyes as she breathed in the reality of his mortal injury. "Gaara -!"

She could only manage to say his name.

"I won't be killed so easily… This… is nothing -,"

Gnashing his teeth to quell his pain, he commanded the sand shield to recede. His arms twitched in the fire that burned in his core, his blood dripping onto the stone below from his stained clothes. Focusing his chakra, he created a blade with his sands and the minerals within them. Crimson finding its way from his grit teeth, he sliced the glowing red wire from his body and stabbed the sand katana through the wound and stepped forward. A curse escaped his iron lips as he felt the grains push through and solidify within his open flesh. In an instant, his wound was sealed. Magnet Release once again saved another life, but this time it was his own.

Shukaku was right – and he was relieved he listened to the tailed-beast in time.

"Why…?" Nomasaki started, the sobs rising into her throat. "Why do you always put yourself in front of me like this? Gaara - you're not a human shield -!"

"I promised you I would protect you… always,"

Surprised from his words, she jolted behind him. Glancing back towards her shocked and saddened expression, Gaara met her teary violet eyes. Protectively, he gave her a strong gaze, its nature unwavering.

"And I promised myself that I'd keep you safe, no matter what the cost…" He said, in a protective tone. "I'll be a human shield one million times over if it means you always will be protected."

Gritting his teeth as he turned back towards the glowing red aura of their foe, he winced from his deep wound, grasping it with his palm. The sands within it were not completely solidified, his flesh aching from the absence of tissue. As she watched him give a curse under his breath in pain, she realized the sands that healed him. The same sands that saved her.

"How bad is it?" She asked, her eyes pained and saddened. "Does it… hurt?"

"It's bearable," He replied, easing his clutch. "I used my sands to fill the gash caused by the attack – the Magnet Release. I'll be fine for now." Pain rumbling through him, he fell to his knees, gasping for breath. Sweat beaded on his crumbling forehead, the sands leaking onto his strained lap. "The wound was… deeper than I thought… I overestimated the effects…- damn it -! Urngh -!"

He near bit his tongue from the pain. As it released into numbness, his clutch eased. Noticing her worry, he averted his eyes from hers. Her expression was pained, concerned, and still fraught with saddened panic. It was the same eyes that looked at him that day he was struck by the assassin in the snow those four years ago – eyes of worry and guilt.

"I'm sorry… for being reckless."

Startled by his choice of words, Nomasaki remembered that day well. She was healing him by the snowy riverside, tending to his wounds dealt by the lightning-release user. _"You know… you didn't have to be so reckless,"_ she said to him, and he answered, _"What do you mean by 'reckless'?"_. The gravity of his words meant so much to her in that moment. Holding back her rising sobs, she bit her lip and nodded.

Gingerly, she moved her hand to his, grasping it lightly. "I… understand, but…-," She said, her voice drawing his surprised gaze to hers. As their eyes met, a tearstained smile appeared lightly on her lips, her violet eyes stern. "We have the rest of our lives to be reckless - together... so don't you dare die!"

A faint smile etched its way onto his lips as he took in her caring and worried face. He gave a nod, pushing the dull pain aside. "I won't."

A deep rumble erupted before them.

Turning towards where Koga once stood, the red beams receded from their strikes upon the earth, returning to their caster. In the fading light of dawn, the red glow dissipated, revealing a ghastly shape surrounded in black red shadow. Nomasaki's eyes widened from the sight, her heart shaking within her chest of the chakra she felt. Narrowing his glance, Gaara viewed the sight in disturbance. Lumbering on all fours, a giant bear-like creature was towering over the shattered black stone. Its fur was as black as the oily stone at its clawed paws, its muzzle snarling and foaming as its dark human-like eyes met theirs at a distance. The Reverse Sealing worked – the man no longer a man, but a beast. Rising to its hind legs, the giant black bear roared, the winds whipping against them in fury.

"What the hell is that?" Gaara glared. "It's a monster."

Nomasaki shivered, the foul chakra chilling her as she stared the beast down. It was snarling towards her, and she could sense its anger. "Onikuma, a demon-bear from legend. I never thought the Kumatsume had forbidden jutsu of this scale… this isn't like the shapeshifting of my people at all – it's botched."

"Botched?"

She nodded, her eyes narrowing as she watched the beast carefully. "This is a ritual that used blood, my blood… it's a cursed jutsu, forbidden for centuries. They called it a blood ritual… I remember it from legends of my clan… _'those who use the blood of another to awaken the beast lose themselves in turn… cursed to madness and death'_." She spoke, flatly. "Koga used _that_ technique… His chakra – the beast's chakra – it's highly unstable -," She felt a shiver pass through her. "He didn't undo the seal on his bloodline... he tried to create something - a monster."

Roaring again, the great bear of shadow and death dashed towards them, its heavy paws thundering against the blackened stone. Shadows danced around it, turning the air cold. Before Gaara had a chance to use his sands, a powerful blast of wind struck the monster, flinging it back towards the mounds of broken stone with great force. Sensing a new presence on the winds, Nomasaki felt her heart grow light. Turning in their direction, her dirtied gold hair whipped her scratched face. Hope returned to her eyes, feeling the winds change.

"What is it?" Gaara asked, his eyes and face stern. "Is it Tenbu?"

"No, it's not -!" She shook her head. Perplexed, he turned to her as her face met his in relief. "It's them - the reinforcements – they've arrived!"

As he took in her words, the approach of their allies was signaled by the sound of their stance on the twisted stone behind them. Dawn was rising, and their shadows met theirs in their wake. Standing close behind them, Kankuro and Temari readied themselves for battle. The puppet of Sasori of the Red Sands clattered in its cloak while it stood prepared by its master, and the gleam of Temari's war-fan shone in the faint sunlight.

"Gaara," Kankuro spoke. "We'll take it from here."

"The others are close behind," Temari entered. "So we figured a reunion was in order, since it's been so long. Two years it's been, right? Since the war?"

Surprised and relieved from the sight, Gaara rose to his feet to meet them. Giving a slight smirk on his lips, he saw their glances enter his view. "Temari, Kankuro," He said. "Your timing is impeccable."

Sensing more chakra approaching, Nomasaki whipped her head towards the shinobi who appeared before her. With concerned brown eyes, Meiyumi met her glance urgently as the other Sunagakure shinobi scattered into the wastes for the lingering mercenaries of Tenbu.

"Meiyumi -," Nomasaki spoke, her eyes stunned to see her. "You're here -!"

"Take her somewhere safe to be treated, she's been wounded." Gaara commanded, his eyes stern towards the medic. "She's lost chakra, and we have a fight on our hands."

"But Kazekage-sama -!" Meiyumi objected, her shocked eyes focused on the blood coating his closed wound. "You're also injured! What about you?"

"Don't worry about me - heal Nomasaki." He answered, turning his attention towards the giant bear in the distance. "My wounds can be healed after this matter is settled, now go!"

With a dutiful nod, Meiyumi took her friend under the arm and left the scene. Before departing, Nomasaki looked up to meet Gaara's ringed-eyes one last time. His glance was stern and unbroken, concern coating his turquoise eyes. He gave a brief nod. Understanding, she knew she had no say in the matter. Vanishing with Meiyumi's Teleportation Jutsu, the two Suna kunoichi fled the battlefield.

Joining his siblings, Gaara took his place in the middle. Catching the attention of his older brother, Kankuro shot him a worried glance. "Are you sure you're well enough to fight this thing?" He questioned, his eyes narrowed. "Just because you're the Kazekage doesn't mean you have to put on a brave face. Temari and I can handle this, go get medical attention -,"

"I'm fine," Gaara said, eyeing the monstrous creature with a glare. "We're settling this together, whether you like it or not. We're taking our old formation… as the Sand Siblings."

Smirking, Temari prepared her fan. "Always so commanding – let's finish this, then."

Eyeing the snarling monster rise from the rubble before them, the three shinobi readied themselves for what was to come. The air fell still in the dim morning light, the growls of the giant black bear rumbling through the twisted barren lands like a tremor. Death clung to the air. Rising to its hind legs, the beast bellowed a bloodcurdling roar and struck the earth with the weight of its forelimbs.

Reunited in combat for the first time in years, they watched the beast charge towards them in a haze of shadow…


	66. To Kill A Bear

_**Author's Note (2020/05/29):**_ Hey everyone! I am back with a new chapter - and the last fight scene for this fanfiction. Writing in general is hard, and writing fight scenes are very hard, so I'm glad this chapter settles that aspect of the story. I was stuck on this chapter for at least a month, so I'm also glad (and relieved) I finally finished it and can move on with other things.

The break from posting gave me more time to delve into my other interests and helped to alleviate some concerns I have when writing this story. I always hate my own work, so I started to despise writing this story for the last few months. I'm aware that my story is definitely not the best out there and that Canon X OC ships are sort of frowned upon, but I'm very happy and grateful for anyone who has gone out of their way to kudos/favourite/follow and review/comment my work - I appreciate it so much!

I hope you all enjoy this final fight chapter - stay safe! xx

 _ **(see end for more notes)**_

* * *

 **Chapter 66  
** **To Kill A Bear**

* * *

The wastes were silent as they were dreadful.

Sheltered behind a great cliff of twisting grey rock, the medic formed the hand-signs for her healing jutsu. The green aura swirled around her gloved hands, its veil encompassing the space between. Cautiously, Meiyumi moved her healing jutsu to the wound on Nomasaki's thigh. The gash was more than a day old, narrowly avoiding the chance of fester and infection. Gritting her teeth, Nomasaki felt the heat of her wound thaw as the flesh finally closed over completely. The cold numbness of her muscles warmed as the green energy danced over her exposed skin, relief filling her with its grace after days of darkness and pain. She cheated death for another day, however narrowly – if not for Gaara. As she watched Meiyumi and her healing hands, she felt a wave of guilt pour over her. If she were not captured by the enemy, none of what was happening would befall them. If she were not so reckless, she would be able to fight alongside them. As she sat before her medic friend, Nomasaki's thoughts ran rapid aimlessly, searching for further cause to blame herself for the ongoing hardship. Even as they hid carefully behind the black oily stone, she could still sense the vile and blood-tinted chakra of Koga and his beast form. The scent burnt her nostrils as she breathed, chilling her spine with unease from the roaring and still winds of dawn.

With her gash upon her thigh healed, Meiyumi scanned the area of the crude sand-ridden puncture that lay in her abdomen. _It must be the Kazekage's doing_ , she thought to herself, _no doubt he loves her – his sand stopped the bleeding_. Her brown eyes narrowing, she focused her chakra carefully, knowing what she must do would be painful. As she moved her green healing aura from her friend, she prepared herself for what was to come.

"Stay still, please." She said. "This might sting a bit."

Heeding her words, Nomasaki gave a brief nod. Biting her lip, she silenced her stinging agony as she felt the void of sand be pushed from her body. On the outside, Meiyumi's medical ninjutsu repaired and sealed her mortal wound. On the inside, it felt as if she were on fire. The grains pushed out of her slowly, their grains snagging onto the flesh that they bound. Her insides felt as if they had become sandpaper, scraping against her being as they left her being. Her fingers dug into the grey earth beneath her tightly, her nails near breaking from the burning pain. As time passed, it at last became bearable. Relaxing her grip, she breathed easy. Focusing her energy, Meiyumi's healing jutsu strengthened as all the sand left the deep wound, filling with the life it near lost.

"You sure got yourself into trouble this time, haven't you?"

Catching her attention, Nomasaki turned towards her. Although Meiyumi's eyes were locked upon her wound, she could still sense the stern and unimpressed glint to her eyes and voice. It was her 'medic's voice', pained with the familiar tone of friendship and concern. Having not seen each other since her doctor's visit, the sight of her fresh and reckless wounds took Meiyumi by surprise and disappointment.

"I know that you've been a tracker-nin for over four years, and Moro-sama's right-hand," Meiyumi sighed. Rising her head to meet her friend's stunned violet eyes, she felt the anger rise to her words. "… but goddamnit, Nomasaki - take care of yourself!"

Taken aback, Nomasaki averted her gaze. "I'm sorry…"

Smiling lightly as the anger passed, Meiyumi brought her attention back to the wound that was near healed. "At least it wasn't a fatal blow. You near struck a kidney… and you lost a lot of blood. You must've had a near brush with death."

Her voice was calmer, sweeter. Tinged with a warm tone that teetered on the side of passive aggressive, Nomasaki accepted her friend's words with a shameful nod. "Yeah," She answered, a small smile etching itself on her lips. "It was… unorthodox. Remind me to not try that a second time." Watching Meiyumi focus on healing her, the wave of concern rose within her, her smile fading. "Where are the others that came with you?"

"They're fighting the remnants of Tenbu inside the mines." Meiyumi replied. "The enemy is weakened, so by the time the rest show up, this will all be over… thankfully." Her brown eyes narrowed, grief and anger tinting her gaze on the closing flesh. "Tenbu unleashed an attack on the village… They used some sort of explosive in the heart of the village – the bulk of the Kazekage's estate is destroyed, and we lost some of our shinobi…-,"

She could not bring herself to say his name.

Shinto.

His death was still fresh in her tears, his final words paining her to remember. He died only a day ago, but his untimely demise was something she did not anticipate in their future. He was still young, he was an ANBU, and he could not die. But he did. Just as their sensei Hashira fell in the war, Shinto gave his life to protect others. A noble sacrifice, but the cost pained her heart to acknowledge it. Forcing away the oncoming sorrow, she remained calm and stern as she focused on healing the wound.

"They say it was Kenzō, the disgraced councillor who did it."

Her gaze locked upon the wastes in their view, Nomasaki's eyes looked on unmoving and eerily calm. The sound of his name angered her, twisting inside in its wrath. She remembered the words she heard as she awoke in her jade prison - the strike in Suna, the call for bait. No doubt in her mind that it was he who done it – he done the same to the Sunagakure Prison. Remembering his death eased her, relieving her of any past fears and guilt. The memory of his pleas before dying comforted her.

"I killed him – Kenzō." She spoke flatly. "I cut off his head like the snake he was…"

Meiyumi flinched, turning to her wide-eyed. "You killed him? Really?"

Nodding once, Nomasaki's view of the wastes remained. Shocked, Meiyumi swallowed her words and focused on her healing jutsu. Not knowing of the monster Kenzō truly was until his arrest and imprisonment before the war, remembering the confession of her friend still struck her with fear and hurt. For years, her comrade was tortured and used by the councillor and his ambitions – and with his arrest she was free.

"I see… That's a relief, at least."

In silence, Nomasaki's tensed eyes eased as her glance upon the grey wasteland calmed. The scent of blood and power still lingered on the air, with dread soon following. She could sense chakra as she used to, able to pinpoint every presence within her range. Gaara and his siblings were locked in combat against the monstrous black bear of Koga's doing, and the other Suna shinobi were in the dark descent of the mines, fighting off the last of Tenbu's loyal men to their cause. Amongst her and Meiyumi were three additional ninja, their faces concealed by the turbans and veils of the ANBU and armed and on the defensive in case a stray Tenbu mercenary found their way to their hiding place behind the stone. Sensing the familiarity of the chakra around her eased her spirits momentarily. What unsettled her to no end was the bear. Borne from a forbidden jutsu and blood ritual of ancient times and fables, her wolf-blood coursed through her veins in a boiling urge.

 _It would take another beast to stop it,_ she thought, _I have to do something_.

Realizing the familiarity of the Suna chakra that surrounded them, a thought crossed her mind as her eyes wandered in a hopeful curiosity. "I see there are ANBU with us," She said. "Where's Shinto? Is he here with the others?"

A jolt shuddered through Meiyumi's fingertips as the sound of his name met her unsuspecting ears. Shinto. Sorrow forced its way into her throat, choking her oncoming breaths and watering her brown eyes drained of sleep. Only a day ago he was alive, clinging to life in a pool of blood and saying his last words before his long-time friend and teammate as the Kazekage bear witness. Holding back her grief, she closed her eyes tightly and swallowed the lump in her throat, a calm and concise air enveloping her exterior as she continued to heal her friend.

Silence was her answer.

Sensing the tone, Nomasaki turned to her only to meet her head hung low and eyes averted from her glance. It was then she suddenly knew the answer that was left unspoken. Her eyes widening, she felt the wind leave her body as hurt and sorrow quivered inside. The truth, the painful truth. It was written all over Meiyumi's silence and shivering.

"Meiyumi -," She choked back the rising sobs. "No… -,"

 _Please no,_ she wanted to cry out, _Please no – not Shinto_.

But it was too late.

He was gone.

Keeping her head hung low, the medic gave a saddened nod. The unspoken truth struck her like a knife to the heart, lodged and throbbing with loss and grief. The memory of his smiling face she remembered so well graced her in person only a few days before, but forever it would remain a memory. The Pure Land was where he belonged, away from the realm of the living and all its faults. The god of death claimed him to his table, joining him as their sensei Hashira did on the line of duty. There were so many lost to her in the last known days – Sohei, Commander Moro – and now Shinto. And she near joined them herself if not for the sands that saved her from what awaited. She felt the tears from her eyes run down her cheeks in a stunned grief, her eyes wide and face frozen. The tears felt hot against her cold and scratched face, her chest feeling full and empty all at once. Looking away, she returned her gaze towards the twisted grey hills of the wastelands in the distance.

"He… told me to come in his stead… for you." Meiyumi answered, her voice low. "He's gone…"

Holding back the sobs, Nomasaki's fingers trembled as they dug into the dirt. The tears flowed silently from her calmed yet distraught eyes, dripping onto the black earth one by one. She felt the sobs cut through her throat like nails, taking all her might to keep them silent. Keeping her composure, she remained locked onto the faint light that lingered beyond the grey wastes.

"Damn him…" She sobbed, quietly. "Damn that bastard…"

The vapid winds of battle shocked around them, slamming into the black earth with a mighty wail. Sand, wind, and flame burst forth from each strike, the monstrous bear of writhing fury roaring while every slash of its claws pushed back any approaching attacks with its rage-fueled jutsu of red shadows. Even as far from the battle as they were, the winds were soaked with a dark power that chilled Nomasaki to the bone. A beast's power, a power tainted and distorted by forbidden arts – a curse. The scent of the beast burned her nostrils, the nature energy in her blood turned vile in the winds. She could feel the wolf inside her beg for release, the boiling in her blood warming her clenched palms in the black earth as she sat wide-eyed and shaken.

"M'lady," A Suna shinobi approached them from behind, his expression tense as he readied his weapon. "We should leave for the wastes immediately! The battle is getting out of hand!"

Before Meiyumi paid any mind to his words of warning, a loud crack echoed before them. In a blast of sand-ridden winds and blinding blue flame, the blast erupted from the pits of the black earth that rumbled. Black stone shattered all around them, the fragments of glowing jade piercing the earth where they fell.

"Look out!"

Concealing them overhead was a shield of earth, a jutsu cast together by their guards who stood by. The oily black stone slid from the barrier, crumbling away likes coals from the impact with the eerie spears of gleaming energy. In the distance, the bear's wails of rage stilled the air as Gaara and his siblings continued the engage the monster. A fallout from the battle, she soon realized. Gathering herself, she saw the shards of ginkō that now surrounded her. Flinching her hands on the dirt, she felt her spine jolt from the sight. Strangely, the fear she sensed from the ore and its nature energy was no more fearful than the beast that roared in the distance. The blood in her boiled in the skin of her hands, her fingers clasping the black earth as her mind searched for a desperate plea for release.

She had to do something – she _must_ do something.

Bringing herself to look directly at the ginkō shard in front of her, the nature energy within its jade shell taunted her with its wordless threats. Already she could imagine her scar burn and twist from the mere glance at it. The blood ritual Koga performed with her kekkei genkai was botched.

Botched…

" _Those who use the blood of another to awaken the beast lose themselves in turn… cursed to madness and death…"_

The words she remembered from Hanone were clear as day to her now. She cheated death more times than she could count, and she believed she was already driven mad by the idea that hatched in her mind. She had to be mad for what she was thinking of doing, no sane person would.

She was already a beast – the beast was merely sleeping.

Swallowing her gut-ridden fear that twisted inside, she turned to Meiyumi behind her as she sat herself up from the black earth below. "Meiyumi!" She shouted against the winds. "Quickly – I need you to strike me with that shard!"

Sitting on her knees, the medic gave a shocked cough from the dust that swirled in the cool air, taken completely aback by what she was hearing. The memory of her disturbed chakra in the hospital room haunted her, only to be further tainted by the street-side stories of a large white wolf bursting through the village streets in a fit of blind and confused rage. Meeting her friend's eyes, she saw they were calm and stern, but she wondered if the familiar impulsivity was once more sitting at her shoulder waiting to strike and sabotage everything. Meiyumi had to be the voice of reason – just as she was in their days as Team Hashira.

"What the -?! Are you mad -?!" She yelled back, furrowing her brow. "Nomasaki - you know what happens when you're near -!"

"Trust me!" Nomasaki was unmoving in her decision, her stern violet eyes painted with urgency. "It's the only way I can break through this seal on my kekkei genkai! I have to help them!" Worry entering her expression, she reached for her sleeve and pulled it up to her elbow, exposing her ghastly pink rivets in the faint light of dawn. "There's no time! Please - help me!"

Hesitantly, Meiyumi studied her face cautiously. Nomasaki's eyes were pleading to her – begging, even. Like a mountain in the wind, there was no point in waiting for her to back down. Begrudgingly, the medic grasped the large shard of glowing jade in her gloved hands and inched herself closer. Eyeing the pink and scarred groves of Nomasaki's pale forearm held out for her, she tried to judge which would be the best spot to strike. In her hands the ginkō felt eerily alive in some strange way, its energy flowing under the crystal that shrouded it. Although calm and prepared for the pain that awaited her, Nomasaki's arm was trembling. Even the mere closeness to the ore stiffened her.

"Alright," Meiyumi breathed, preparing herself. "Stay still,"

Looking her in the eyes, Meiyumi watched her friend nod in unsettled silence. Swinging the shard in the air, she brought the sharp crystal back down and pierced it into the crevice that marked Nomasaki's scarred arm. Crimson oozed from the fresh wound, the glowing jade shrieking its high-pitched wails of death as it made contact with her feral blood. Pain burst through her to every nerve on her skin, burning throughout every limb, every opening, every fresh wound that claimed her. Forcing herself to withstand its fury, Nomasaki gnashed her teeth and clapped her bloodied palms together.

 _Reverse Sealing… be undone!_

 _Unravel… Be broken… Release!_

Her blood boiled violently, coursing through her veins as the floodgates burst open with the feral warmth that awoken. Gritting her teeth in her strained jaws, she hunched forward with her hands pressed onto the stone. Her nails grew claw-like and her nostrils flared into a ghastly visage with each snarling breath from her lungs. Her human face twisted into that of a canine, teeth barred and fanged, eyes slit, and a hidden power ready to burst at the seams. She could make the change at any second – she could feel it. She had the control this time, her wolf blood bending to her will at last.

"Get back – now!"

Startling her, Meiyumi stepped back just in time.

A growl-ridden bark passed through Nomasaki's lips as the lost coat of white enveloped her, coating her in its unbridled energy as her shape changed in a blur of white and feral blood. Shifting from her familiar human skin, she became a wolf once more. Powerful limbs of white fur grounded her, her beastly purple eyes opening fully as the creature she was destined to become. Her body felt free of any bounds, her boiling blood warmed and hers alone. Towering over her shocked and stricken allies, the white beast let out a piercing howl from its fanged jaws against the cool winds marked with death and curses. Locking its sights towards the giant black-furred beast in the distance, the wolf arched its back, digging its sharpened claws into the black earth. A snarl escaped its curled lips, breaking the winds in fury. Powerfully, the wolf leapt with a bark of feral rage, dashing against the black earth in haste towards its prey.

It was time for the hunt and the kill was in plain sight.

* * *

Slashing away at the sands that spilled towards it, the bear stood on its hind legs to lunge at the caster.

Seeing the bear approach, Gaara felt his wound pulse in his core, gnashing his teeth as he avoided the monster's counter. Before the bear could deal another swipe of its giant clawed paws, a wall of wind slapped against its muzzle. Turning its attention towards Temari, the bear roared and lumbered onwards towards the fan-wielding kunoichi. Underneath the black stone cracked and shattered from its massive weight, rolling thunder echoing from the pounding of its paws. Frozen, the bear growled and snarled as it struggled to free itself from its invisible trap. With all his strength, Kankuro held the beast at bay with his puppet ninjutsu, the chakra strings grasping onto its thick furred legs.

"Damn it…!" He grunted, matching its strength with all his might. "This thing is strong -!"

"Kankuro –!"

Before he could react to his sister's yell, he found himself thrown from where he stood. The bear burst from the chakra strings that bound it immobile, swinging its massive paw towards him and his idle puppet. Smashing against the black stone behind him with the clatter of his puppet's limbs, the impact was softened by Gaara's sand and quick thinking. Pain rumbled through him as he managed to pull himself up on his knees. Across from them was the monstrous bear, roaring and galloping its way towards him. Its paws thundered in its path as its red eyes locked onto the three Sunagakure shinobi that angered it.

"Can't you stop it with your sand?" Kankuro turned to Gaara as he appeared at his side. "We need to slow it down!"

"I'm still weak from my wounds," Gaara answered back, glaring towards the beast. "My sand's speed is greatly reduced from my loss of chakra earlier."

 _My strength is failing me, too_ \- he wanted to add, but his pride prevented him.

A Kazekage could not show weakness, even in the direst of situations. Sunagakure followed power – and those descended from the Kazekage clan were blessed with the power to lead. Even as he stood near his brother, he could feel the throbbing pulse of his deep gash twist and burn through his core. Sweat dotted his forehead, the cracking Sand Armor underneath giving way to his shielded skin. His strength was crippled. If he moved too hastily, the wind of life could easily leave him, the wound and its presence dictating his movements. _Of all times to have taken such a wound_ , he cursed himself, eyeing the bear that charged towards them.

A howl broke against the still air.

 _A howl._

The sound was as chilling as the winds that plagued them, the noise fading beyond the black cliffs. Gaara froze, his eyes wide. He recognized the tone, its pitch, everything about it. _Nomasaki._ As sudden as it rang out, it vanished. Startled by the noise, Kankuro readied his guard beside his younger brother, his puppet clattering its joints as he summoned his chakra strings to its movements.

"Don't tell me…" Kankuro muttered under his breath. "There's another beast?"

A faint wave of rolling thunder beat upon the stone in the distance, its sound getting louder as time passed. The bear was still charging, its frothing muzzle of jagged teeth prepared to cut through its prey. Snarling soon broke through the winds. It was getting closer, the clattering of claws on black stone and feral panting soon audible to their ears. When Gaara turned towards the east, he stood stunned at the sight that befell him. A wave of thunderous white was approaching, the glint of beastly purple eyes tearing through the sight of the giant bear that charged.

"No," Gaara spoke, still frozen where he stood. "It's her -!"

Before Kankuro could grasp his words and what they meant, the wolf had made its hunt.

In a haze of black and white, the two beasts collided with one another. Roaring, barking, and exchanging vicious snaps and snarls of their jaws, they rolled against the black stone in a thunder. Latching onto the great bear that was near twice its size, the white wolf crashed into its side with its jaws wide and muzzle barred. Tearing through muscle and flesh, the wolf clung into its fold of thick black fur with the crunch of its gleaming fangs. The bear let out a horrid shriek to the winds, rearing on its hind legs. Swiping its paws, the bear narrowly missed the large white parasite that pulled itself onto its back where it could not reach. The wolf would not release its bloodied grip, the snarling and growling from its sharply locked jaws unmoving from the fur of the bear's neck. The more the bear struggled, the more the wolf clamped down with its razor-like fangs, tearing and ripping its flesh with each movement. The wolf's claws dug into the beast's back, refusing to be knocked off its mount, irritating the bear to no end as its thrashed and wailed about.

A burst of crimson leaked from the wolf's hold, spraying onto its immaculate white fur.

The jugular.

Violently, the monstrous demonic bear thrashed its body as its screams filled the cool air around them, ringing against the oily black stone that coated the land where they fought. The wolf held on, unrelenting, digging its claws further into its backs and strengthened its bite. Roaring wildly, the bear stood and tossed its body back and forth, its forelimbs swiping at the canine lodged onto its blind spot. Using its gargantuan size, the bear swung its body around as if a lumbering ragdoll. Its power was too great – even the blood pouring from its wound was coursing in fire and energy. Her nature energy, her blood – it was hers, mixed with the vile curse of a jutsu beyond the scope of humanity.

 _Give me back my blood, demon!_

The wolf strengthened its bloodied bite, its dagger-like fangs piercing its flesh deeper than before. Red oozed from the wound, spurting onto the black stone beneath like rain. The bear's movements turned sluggish, the blood loss clouding its further judgement. In a burst of panicked feral power, the bear swung the wolf clean from its back. Before the white beast could lunge with its fangs and claws, the giant bear swung its massive paw, knocking the wolf into the slabs of black stone ahead.

Sand cushioned the impact, surrounding its red and white body.

Whimpering as it lifted itself up, the wolf whipped its head towards the onlooking demon. Barring its fangs with a snarl, the wolf licked its red muzzle as its violet eyes bore through the bear that stared it down in the distance. Its hind leg tremored, pain rumbling through it as it sat in the sands.

Broken.

"Nomasaki!"

In a wind of sands, Gaara appeared before the creature. Growling, the wolf glared towards the demon thundering ahead. Before the bear could charge further, a wave of wind slapped against it. A bloodcurdling roar shrieked into the air, the winds slashing towards its eyes in a haze of red. Temari. With her fan drawn out to its three purple stars, a line of red was stretched across it. Her summoning jutsu had been released, the white weasel disappearing in a cloud of smoke when it dispelled. The bear thrashed and wailed, its red eyes sewn shut by its wounds.

Blinded.

As it panted with its snarls, the wolf slowly reverted back into the human shape it knew. Nomasaki kept her eyes locked onto the wailing bear, her heart and instincts refusing to look away. Wiping away the blood that painted her mouth with her torn sleeve, she suddenly felt the twitch of torn muscle and broken bone. Giving in to her rising pain, she glanced down at her right leg. Her leg was broken, split from the clawed swipe of the monster.

Crouched down beside her, his ringed-eyes went wide from the sight of her twisted limb. "Your leg -,"

Biting her lip, she grasped her knee with both of her hands and held it down. Watching silently, Gaara witnessed her place pressure onto her kneecap, her arms trembling from the force. As the pain rumbled through her, she resisted every urge to scream as the bite on her lip went deeper. Her bone scraped another on the inside, tremoring through her mercilessly. Screams balled into her throat, her bleeding closed lips keeping them silent. While her lip started to bleed from her protruding canines, she placed more pressure on her kneecap. With a faint popping noise, it was over. Panting as she felt weak from her excursion, she relaxed her numb arms.

"I'll be okay." She nodded, masking her sweating panic with a calm visage. "My leg is still broken, but it's not nearly as painful as earlier…" The distant roars of the monster caught her attention. Whipping her head towards it, her eyes narrowed. "I managed to get its vital point… but the beast still has some fight left – we have to strike, now -!"

Eyeing the monster, Gaara soon realized the ground was fraught with glowing jade ore. Ginkō. The shards were larger than he ever seen. Even as he stood far away from them, he could faintly feel their magnetising pull from his sands. Seeing the faint outline of Nomasaki's pale scar on her arm at his side, his thoughts ran rapid with an idea. Nature energy was extremely volatile, even with the little control its users had. The ginkō would disrupt anything – and the beast was a walking target.

Ginkō was the key.

"Nomasaki, can you still mold chakra?"

Catching her attention, she glanced to him. "I think so," She answered. "Why?"

"We're going to kill the bear - together," He said, eyes locked on the beast ahead. "I need your wind-release to help take this thing down. Can you help me?"

Pushing back the pain that throbbed in her broken limb, she found the courage to give a light smile. "Of course… just keep that ore you're staring at far away from me."

Acknowledging her words with silence and care, he moved his palm forward. Summoning his strongest sand, he focused his chakra firmly. Magnet Release soon consumed the sands floating before him, molding and forcing the grains together in an air of power. A stream of sand brought the ginkō closer, wielding it to the hardened gold grains. Tightly packed, the sands formed into the shape of a great halberd, its point glowing jade point concealed by the yellow and golden grains that surrounded it. As the beast thrashed about, Gaara aimed carefully, watching the bear's erratic and rage-filled movements. Its vision was blind, but its sense of smell was still there. Quelling its rage with bloodlust, the bear suddenly gained their scent. Frothing at the mouth, the bear roared viciously and charged forward.

Gaara's stance hardened in the sands. "Now!"

"Right!"

Forming the last hand-sign, Nomasaki slammed her palms together. A split second after the halberd was released towards the charging onikuma, she took a deep breath into her belly. Opening her fanged jaws, wind erupted from her mouth with a piercing howl tinging its path.

"Secret Art! Howling Wind!"

Swirling around the melded halberd, the sands burst forth towards the beast in lightning speed and great power. She was a halberd, she remembered, the halberd to his shield.

And a wolf above all else.

The spear lodged into the great beast, its wails echoing through the cool air as if a dirge of death.

Piercing the black charging beast directly through its heart, the ginkō point disappeared under the cover of fur as black as night itself. In its rage, the demon roared on its hind legs, thrashing about as the red burst from its chest. Red soon enveloped it, painting the black stone in crimson. A burst of glowing red suddenly surrounded the bear as it cried out in death's embrace, shattering the very earth beneath it.

The winds wailed, shattering stone everywhere in its path.

Grasping onto Nomasaki, Gaara held her close in his arms as he rose his sands to protect them from the onslaught of red energy and the rain of black stone. Startled by the sudden feel of his warm and protective hold, she watched in awe as the sands stood proud and impenetrable, his expression calm and stern while the winds whipped their hair. Feeling her matted gold strands slap her cheeks, the dark aura to the winds vanished. _The jutsu was undone,_ she realized - and a strange sense of strength returned to her. Almost as if in a breath, she regained what was lost.

Wincing as the winds stopped, Gaara knew he reached his limits. Around them, the massive wall of sand collapsed into nothing. Slowly, his sand receded back into the small of his gourd strapped to his belt, the sweat beading furiously on his brow while his wound twisted and churned from the inside. His Sand Armor crumbled and fell, his last resort exposed and in the open. Noticing his failing strength, Nomasaki could feel it through his tightening grip on her arm. His hand was near shaking.

"Gaara -!"

"I know," He panted, turning to meet her concerned eyes. "It's alright... I'll be fine." His wound pulsed again. Clutching it tightly, he grit his teeth to counter the pain that throbbed through him. "I've used up the last of my strength... but the battle is done. It's over."

She sensed the beast's chakra for a final time. Only it was not the beast she felt - it was the man. Koga. Her eyes widened from the feel of his faint presence, she whipped her head towards where the demon was slain. Falling under its massive weight, the beast of black fur and melded blood melted away into nothing, leaving behind the stench of boiled blood and brittle vengeance.

And it was over.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note (2020/05/29):**_ The name "onikuma" I used in this chapter and in Chapter 65 comes from a Japanese folktale legend of a demonic bear.

"Onikuma" (鬼熊) literally translates to "demon bear" in Japanese, and was said to have been a yōkai (spirit) that walked upright and possess great strength. They would carry off their prey to the mountains where they lived, and the only way to kill one was to use long spears. In the wild, bears and wolves are antagonistic to each other as they are both predators so I thought it would be interesting to include a battle between the villain (bear) and my OC (wolf).

What's more is that the Kumatsume clan in my story - the name "Kumatsume" (熊爪) means "bear claw" in Japanese.


	67. Dawn

**_Author's note (2020/06/04):_ **Only a few more chapters to go and this fanfiction is finally finished! The ending is within reach, so I will try to have the coming chapters posted once weekly until the last one. I also might have an epilogue/supplemental chapter because I write *too* much which will include character info and maybe a timeline (I know, I'm a nerd with too much free time). Writing is hard, but it's even harder to finish things - so I'm glad I can now confidently say that this fic will be finished in only a matter of weeks.

It's also come to my attention that this story is over 280,000+ words now, which is almost the same length as A Game of Thrones by GRRM... I never thought I could write this much in my life! I'm aiming for an end total of 300,000 words, so we'll find out when we get there.

As I said in an earlier note, whether you suffered or enjoyed reading this - thank you for reading!

 _ **(see end for more notes...)**_

* * *

 **Chapter 67  
** **Dawn**

* * *

"Kazekage-sama!"

Turning towards the voices, the silhouettes of Meiyumi and the other Sunagakure shinobi appeared running towards them against the black earth. Hastily, Meiyumi reached them first against the scattered sands and black stone, her brown eyes stricken with urgency.

Meeting the face of her friend, Nomasaki gave a small smile of relief. "Meiyumi,"

As she approached closer, Meiyumi noticed the gravity of Gaara's injuries. She could see the new blood making its way out of its crudely sealed wound, leaking onto his mahogany shirt and staining the fabric. He appeared weaker than earlier, the toll of battle weighing heavily on his shoulders. Kneeling down, the green aura of her medical ninjutsu surrounded her careful hands.

"Kazekage-sama, let me heal you." She urged, sternly. "We can't have you die here!"

"She's right," Nomasaki answered as she saw his ringed-eyes look towards her in protest. A light smile formed on her lips, grateful. "I know you're strong, but please remember - I forbade you to die. Please, Gaara."

Silently, he gave in and nodded. It was the pain he wanted to avoid, not the healing itself. Gnashing his teeth, he pulled out his sands slowly as Meiyumi closed off the gash on both sides, healing his internal injuries as best as she could. Furrowing her brow, she forced every bit of her strength to the wound. It was deeper than Nomasaki's - and more fatal. She had to stitch organs back into place beneath her skin that she could not see, making it all the more difficult. Clutching his knees tightly as the cool air left his exposed wound, the flesh was sewn shut within minutes of agony.

"Nomasaki," Meiyumi spoke, turned to her. "Let me heal your wounds next."

Nodding, Nomasaki gave a light smile. "Right. Thanks, Meiyumi."

A shock jolted through her.

The color drained from her face, her violet eyes wide with dread from the energy she sensed upon the cool air. Whipping her head towards the direction of the slain bear of molten black, a vile presence faintly slithered into the cracks of the earth below. She suddenly realized where it was going – her heart near stopping at the thought.

The mines.

"Gaara! Nomasaki!"

Appearing within a flash, Temari and Kankuro stood by their sides. Despite the ferociousness of the beast, the other two Sand Siblings were lucky to escape any major injury. Only dirt and faint scratches marked their faces and clothes, with sternness and duty marking their eyes as they looked on at their younger brother being healed by the medic.

"Are you alright?" Kankuro asked. "We saw you collapse!"

Meiyumi smiled, her medical ninjutsu fading from her hands as she finished. "He'll be fine. The wound was deep, but it's closed now." Looking towards the silent Kazekage, she tensed her eyes. "You narrowly escaped a trip to the hospital, Kazekage-sama. If I weren't here in time, you would've been in trouble."

Unmoving by their chakra, Nomasaki's eyes remained wide and locked towards the steaming black stone. A shiver traced down her spine, the nature energy becoming clear to her. Time was nearly gone. Her scar writhed and pulsed under her torn sleeve as if in warning. Not even the medical ninjutsu she felt from Meiyumi's hands upon her broken leg could calm the storm she sensed brewing beneath them.

"What's wrong?" Temari's voice passed through her ears faintly. "Nomasaki!"

"Everyone –! We have to get out of here - now!" Meeting their faces, the terror could be seen in her eyes. "It's the mines! The remnants of that chakra seeped into the tunnels below… there's no time -!"

A faint cry sounded on the stilled winds.

The Suna shinobi sensed it, too. Remembering the bursts of blue flame that shattered the great stone walls of the Kazekage's estate, Kankuro and Gaara grew alarmed. It was the same sound – only more lurked beneath the surface. The ginkō mines were hidden by millennia of black stone and vengeful wastes that shrouded it in mystery – only to be unearthed by the man who sought to use them as weapons. If the corrupted chakra were to touch the slightest shard, the entire valley of black rock where they stood would disintegrate into nothing. A vast crater would soon enough take its place.

The land became swallowed by a blinding glimmer of light.

Chakra swelled into the winds.

The ginkō.

Shattering the land of blackened earth, the ginkō ignited in a devasting blast of pure energy. Its high-pitched cries pierced the violent winds that swirled and broke stone in its wake. The blue flames followed, licking everything in its path of destruction. Within seconds, the great hidden mines exploded into a crevice of exposed caverns with every last piece of ginkō ore swallowed by the flames. A thunderous quake erupted across the land, the winds thrashing against anything that stood in its way.

The winds stilled once more.

Realizing she was still alive, Nomasaki shot open her eyes to the sight of a massive sand shield enveloping them all. Standing with his back facing her, Gaara summoned all his strength to his shield – protecting everyone effortlessly. Her heart calming in her chest, she sensed the chakra that arrived shortly before the blast. The winds carried their scents.

Turning towards the chakra as the enormous wall of sand receded back into the earth, she saw the faint sheen of purple in the far-off distance. Her eyes widened from the feel of the chakra. It was him – the Uchiha, she realized. The Susano'o.

And there were others.

Marveling at the shell of sand that encased them, a smug smirk formed on Kankuro's lips. Despite being weakened by his injuries, the Kazekage put on a brave face. His exterior was as unbent as iron and his sand was just as strong. "Nicely done, Gaara."

After the sands receded, he met the faces of those who were behind. "Is everyone alright?"

"We're still alive," Temari spoke first, her voice familiar in its bluntness. "If that means anything."

The faint glimmer of dawn broke through over the twisting cliffs of the wastes, the dark finally leaving the land. As she could feel the chakra that lay around them, Nomasaki's eyes suddenly grew wide. Frantically, she pulled up her tattered sleeve to view her scar. Its pink groves were still there, etched forever on her skin in the memory of burning flesh and corrupted blood. The light winds kissed against her pale arm, the scar unmoving from her human form. It was silent. As if in some stroke of luck, her wound no longer writhed from the jade ore that plagued the blackened lands. She wanted to weep.

"It's gone," She found herself say aloud, her heart beating in startled relief. "The burning under my scar -! The ginkō must be -,"

Kneeling down to meet her face, Gaara looked towards her eyes and nodded. His expression was firm and stoic, and his eyes carrying understanding and ease. "Yes," He said. "I think so, too. That means the pain is -?"

She rose her forearm to examine it properly. The indent was still cold to the touch, even colder than the rest of her mountain-born skin. "It stopped -! It's gone…"

"Gaara!"

Surprised by the voice, Gaara turned towards where it came from the rising winds of morning. Upon one of the nearby cliffs, he could see the shapes of three standing tall in the distance. As the faint light danced around the shadows, he could clearly make out the forms of his Konoha allies. Standing with his arms folded against his chest in the distance between the others who came to their aide, Uzumaki Naruto stood with Haruno Sakura and Nara Shikamaru. Feeling their chakra draw near, Nomasaki saw them as well. _Just as Hakuto said_ , she realized. She was true to her word.

"Naruto," Gaara said as he stood.

"Sorry we're late," Naruto shouted, with a beaming smile. "But we've come to help! Hokage-sama suggested we come as soon as possible!"

Remembering their words to each other at the wedding only mere months ago in the winds of spring, Gaara gave a small smile of relief. _"You can always count on your Konoha allies for help"_ – being grateful was an understatement. Overhead, a great chakra passed over. Looking towards the skies, they both witnessed the armored ghostly figure of the samurai flew overhead in solitude. The Susano'o and its caster soon departed the wastes without a single word spoken – as so was the life of a wanderer on the path to redemption. _Sasuke must have protected them – or accompanied them_ , Gaara thought as he seen its flaming purple hue vanish before his eyes.

Nomasaki saw it leave beside him as she remained on the black ground mired with sand. As quickly as he arrived, he was gone. She felt as if she could sense Sakura's chakra pleading for him to stay or for her to follow wherever it was he was going. It reminded her of the longing she felt for Gaara in the days they spent apart. A nostalgic but painful feeling. Footsteps sounded behind her in a bitter haste. Walking past her brother and eyeing the Konoha shinobi, Temari solidified her stance and furrowed her brow at her lover who stood in position for his shadow technique.

"You sure as hell _are_ too late!" Temari shouted from across the battlefield of shattered black stone. "Shikamaru, you're so goddamn pokey! The fight was finished before you even got here! I left only hours before you and I was here the same time as the Suna-nin! What were you doing back there?!"

Dismayed by her reaction, Shikamaru groaned to himself, embarrassed. Second-hand embarrassment painted the expressions of his comrades – even to those unfortunate to listen to their bickering. With a sigh, he closed his eyes to avoid it all. "I didn't think you'd have the situation under control so fast, and there were Tenbu mercenaries waiting for us along the way." He retorted. "We were expecting an army of mercenaries waiting for us here, and all we got is a few rogue ninja and the aftermath of a failed lab experiment."

Awkwardly, Naruto scratched the back of his head as he turned to his friend. "Your wedding is in the autumn… right?" Sakura promptly shushed him, her green eyes mired in scolding. They already had enough fights for one day, that was for certain.

And dawn had approached at last.

* * *

As the Konohagakure shinobi joined their ranks, two of the scattered Suna ninja appeared before their Kazekage.

Promptly, they guided him to the spot where the black stone cracked and heaved as if a void to the ends of the earth. Where the onikuma once stood. The scene was shrouded in black and grey, the withering pool of molten dark revealing the face of a man who let his hatred swallow him whole.

Narrowing his ringed-eyes towards the crater, Gaara stood firm. "Is he still alive?"

The Suna ninja nodded, their expression stern. "It appears so. he won't be alive much longer by the feel of it." He turned to his leader. "What should be done with him, Kazekage-sama?"

"He's to face judgement." Gaara spoke, his glance unmoving. "I'll deal with him alone. The rest of you tend to the wounded and the survivors."

"Yes, sir!"

After the shinobi vanished amongst the winds, the black molten mass that coated the last standing man of Tenbu eroded away. Slowly, Koga raised his crimson-soaked head towards the faint sunlight as he could hear the young Kazekage approach closer. Standing before him above on the ledge of the grey crater, Gaara's footsteps halted. As Koga met his unmoving glare, sand soon surrounded him within a matter of seconds, grasping him firmly in its embrace of fore coming death.

Weakly, Koga's bloodied head slumped forward as he let out a defeated laugh. "It appears I've lost…" He panted. "The odds were against me, for sure… But I won't lie… I never once thought we'd be defeated by mere remnants of forgotten clans…" Grinning, he rose his bloodshot eyes towards the silent and glaring Kazekage who stood from the ledge. "Your clan, the Kazekage clan of the desert… is just as forgotten as those wretched wolves…"

Glaring down at him, Gaara did not respond to his words.

"Tell me… what kind of Kazekage are you?" Koga questioned. Looking up at the Kazekage, his darkened and strained eyes met his glare. "Will you let me live - and suffer as your prisoner? Or will you give me honor and kill me here?" Coughing up blood, he struggled in his sand-ridden hold with a grin etched on his cracked lips of death. "I have to be frank… I don't have much life left in me – so spare me your glares and meaningless words!"

"I'm the Fifth Kazekage," Gaara answered, sternly. "I was the youngest of my village to become a Kage in its history, and I helped lead the Shinobi Alliance to victory in the Fourth Shinobi War." He stepped closer to him, tightening his sand's grasp on the enemy, hearing him wince in agony as he did so. "My clan may be forgotten, but I'm a Kazekage with honor. I do what is right to protect my village and my people." As he looked down upon him, his turquoise eyes narrowed further, threateningly. Standing firm and calm, his eyes appeared as if they could kill. Angered twisted inside them, vying to silence the man who lay in defeat. "You… are a threat to them. You caused nothing but pain and suffering in your wake – against your own people and any land you ventured. You deserve to die for all that you've done."

Footsteps sounded behind him.

Startling the Suna shinobi who guarded the crater, Nomasaki was met with their wide eyes and jolting shoulders. "My lady," One of them said. "Stand back! Kazekage-sama's orders -,"

"Step aside." She answered, her expression blank and fixated on what lay ahead. "I need to pass. I must hear what he says."

Dropping their guard, the two Suna ninja moved aside. As she walked, her leg pained only slightly, but the pain in her heart was still there. Her homeland, Sunagakure, Commander Moro, Sohei, Shinto – all of them ached her deeply. Taking her place next to the Kazekage, she gazed down upon the enemy with her violet eyes calmed and blank with emotional exhaustion. Glancing to her, Gaara could see the pain clearly etched within her bitter silence. Through her eyes, she saw the man who set her village aflame, - the man who slaughtered her people - the man who hunted her since she was a child. The flames were forever burned in her memory, but what she saw laying on the shattered black stone was a mere shell of his actions. His fate finally caught up to him - and rightfully so.

"You…! The she-wolf…" Koga laughed weakly. "For years I've hunted you… and your blasted clan! What good is it that you stand before me now?"

"I've come to see what you are," She spoke. "...and pass my own judgement as someone from the lands of Yama and Suna."

He gave a pained sneer, grinning under his breath. "Our clans… The Yamamori and the Kumatsume were sworn enemies since the dawn of shinobi… always fighting for land and power. We come from an ancient line, you and I... where nature energy runs freely through our veins and changes our people into beasts! Your clan, the wolves... and mine, the bears... that is... until that bastard from the desert banished our people and sealed our kekkei genkai away... It's left us defenceless and in shame for near a century... with our need to enact revenge only growing thanks to the conflicts that tore our wasteland of a country apart! Conflicts started by _his_ people..."

Glaring towards the silent Kazekage, his darkened eyes painted with red webs sneered towards her, threateningly.

"We've both been cast aside by our respective lands... Me, for wanting what is rightfully mine - and you for being born a monster. The Yamamori fell from grace as the esteemed guardians of the mountains generations ago, instilling fear into the mountain-folk they were sworn to protect... and then their very village fell and burned all because of the last Yamamori... when my men turned it to ash...! Your clan is no better than mine… We're the same! We're both descended from a long line of bloodshed and misery."

"You've kept your own people as slaves." She spoke, her voice as cold as ice. "You burned down my home, killed my villagers, threatened my family, and tried to steal my kekkei genkai with my death by the use of your foolish ritual… all for the sake of hatred. We are not the same…"

Her calm cracked upon the surface.

The more she met his vile eyes, the more she felt the hurt and rage writhe within her. Feeling her blood boil beneath her clenched fists at her sides, her face slowly morphed into a beast with each breath. Protruding through her mouth were her pointed canines, her eyes and snout elongated in a snarling grumble as her glaring purple eyes pierced through him. She did not change into a wolf, but the fierceness was the same.

Her jaws hungered for attack.

And he was the prey.

"If I had the strength, I would strangle what little life clings to you and let you drown in your own blood… I would gladly end your life with the hatred that twists in my heart...!" She spat through her fanged teeth, her voice deepened in its growls. "…but I'm not like you. I don't let rage or needless revenge consume me, despite what lingers within my blood. You are borne with hatred and you will die with hatred. That's all you are… a pathetic waste of a human being, using your hatred to harm others out of your selfishness." Calming herself, her face reverted to normal in a breath – the coldness to her human glance still locked onto him. "I'm ending the line of hatred between our clans… and with your death, that can finally be achieved. No longer will our clans needlessly fight. That ends today."

Maddened, Koga released a maniacal laugh from his prison of sand. "You…! She-wolf bitch -! What good will that do? The wounds of old would never heal… The death tolls between our clans is too great – and the hatred festered towards those damned desert-folk will never cease to exist! Never!" Humored, he glared towards her silent stance above. "I've lost count of all the Yamamori I've slain over the years, just so you know… Their pelts made for good trophies after the Second Shinobi War -,"

Wincing, the sand clutching his frail and weakened body tightened greatly. Gaara's doing. Breathing heavily, red leaked from his lips and nostrils. Scoffing to himself after it stopped, he glared back towards the silent Yamamori above him. Her purple eyes glared back at him, the ice and cold tinging the strange hue that painted them.

"I've killed many of my own people, too… the ones who turned against me…" He smirked faintly. "When we went into exile, their loyalty was tested… and those who gave their lives to me were spared… The rest ended up the same as that fool of man bearing the name Hoki… The Kumatsume were fools for not believing in me or my plans - or Tenbu…. You can kill the lot of them for all I care…! They're useless, utterly useless… -,"

A crack echoed across the crater.

Reeling, Koga shot her a bitter glare from his narrowed bloodshot eyes as his bloodied lip poured down his bearded chin. Nomasaki was unmoving, her fist reddened across the knuckles from striking his cheekbone with all the force she had. Her eyes looked upon him in disgust, glaring down at him as coldly as death itself. Biting her lip, she forbade herself any further strikes or words. He was a dead man regardless.

Scoffing to himself with closed eyes, Koga accepted his fate. "Fine, then - make it quick… Give me death." He chuckled weakly, holding his bloodied head down towards the burnt earth. "Or else I'll… die first… before you can kill me yourselves…!"

Turning to her, Gaara gave her an expression of sympathy. "Nomasaki, look away. You don't need to see this."

"No." She answered, unmoving from her glare. Her violet eyes narrowed at the enemy further, her rage and hurt masked behind her calm. "I will watch him as he dies. He destroyed my village, hunted down my people… hunted down you and myself… and threatened to destroy Sunagakure." Her glare softened, remembering the hardships of not only her life but the lives of those she witnessed deep within the blackened mines of jade ore. "I will look him in the eyes for the sake of my clan – and his, too."

Closing his eyes as he turned back to their enemy, he looked back to the man grasped within his sands with a stern expression marked on his face. The iron returned. "Koga of the Wastes," Gaara began, his sand slowly moving around him. "As Tenbu have said, _'We will not stop until the sands are red with blood'_ …" He glared at him, mercilessly. "…That will be your fate. You will be swallowed by the sands that claim you… As the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure… I, Gaara of the Kazekage clan, sentence you to die. Do you have any last words?"

"Heh… enough talk," Koga grunted as the sands grew heavier over his body. "Just kill me already…!"

Gaara's ringed-eyes narrowed their glare further. "May death find you in its embrace, then."

The sands swarmed towards him in a monstrous wave of death.

Within seconds, the sand surrounding Koga began to morph into a giant pit of quicksand, swallowing everything whole around it in a sea of unrelenting yellow grains. Swirling around his bound body, the sands latched onto him, dragging him slowly into the depths of the broken blackened wastes below. The graveyard of shattered stone. As his death drew near, he let out a psychotic and menacing cackle. Eyeing the two Suna shinobi, his bloodshot eyes glared towards them.

"Spoken like a true Kazekage clan leader!" He laughed. "Even you have some of the cursed mania the tales speak of! You're just like your accursed ancestors!" Violently, the sand swirled around him more forcefully, his entire body nearly swallowed whole. Their eyes met for one final time. "Gaara of the Sand Waterfall…!"

Glaring in response, Gaara was unmoved by his foe's parting words. "I am nothing like them."

With the closing of his fist, the sands engulfed him.

A pained scream soon followed.

The deep rumble echoed throughout the land where they stood, signifying the end to his reign of tyranny and fear with the arrival of silence. From the ashes of the mountain village, he rose as a terror – only to disappear as the sands turned silent from the swallow of his bitter blood. Tenbu was done. Standing in silence, Nomasaki watched the moving sands come to a still.

"It's done, then. He's… -," _Dead_ , she wanted to say – but she could not bring herself to speak the word upon her lips. Turning to Gaara at her side, she saw him give a subtle nod. Bringing herself to face the sands once more, her eyes narrowed. "That man – him and Kenzō… They were the ones who were truly monsters, not you for being a jinchuriki – or me for being of the wolf blood. They were kinslayers... slaughtering their own people for the sake of their selfishness..."

"They won't be torturing the living any time soon," Gaara said. "It's over."

She nodded. "Yes… at last."

"Kazekage-sama!"

Turning towards the call, they saw a ninja wearing the garbs and flak jacket of Suna appear kneeling before them from high above on the overarching ledge. "There are no survivors from Tenbu within the hideout or the perimeter. All is clear." They spoke. "Those of Tenbu who engaged in combat and survived are detained for further questioning for Ishigakure. The Ishi ANBU are en route to our whereabouts as we speak."

"Good," Gaara nodded, sternly. _Zenken the Elder was true to his word back then_ , he thought. "Anything else to report?"

"There's a group of people who escaped from the mines," The ninja answered. "They're unarmed, clad in rags. The ones who scouted the perimeter found them taking shelter beyond the cliffs. They said the Uchiha found them and shielded them from the blast with the Konoha-nin."

The ones who escaped the mines…

Surprised, Nomasaki's eyes grew hopeful as the winds echoed the faint chakra that lingered far off in the wastes. "The Kumatsume…!" She spoke to herself. "It's them -!"

"What should we do with them, Kazekage-sama? Should we take them for questioning?"

"Don't hurt them, it's alright -," Nomasaki entered, standing firm. "They're allies – I freed them from Tenbu! Trust me, I can vouch for them."

The messenger gasped in shock. "Nomasaki-sama -!?"

"Please, listen to me - you have my word." She said, loud enough for them to hear. "These people are the last of the Kumatsume clan… Grant them safe passage to the Land of Mountains. There, they can be free men. Send for a scroll and hawk so I can write my to my father – Yamagakure claims them as their own."

Stunned by the words they were hearing, the messenger turned towards Gaara. He stood silent, listening to her speak her words with a calm glint to his eyes. "Kazekage-sama? Are you sure we should -?"

Meeting their eyes, Gaara gave a stern nod. "Do as she says."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

Soon after the Suna ninja departed from the ledge above them, Gaara turned to her. Narrowing his eyes slightly, a thought irked at the back of his mind. "Are you sure Yamagakure and the Yamamori clan would agree to this?" He questioned, remembering the tale of past conflicts. "They were your clan's enemy at one time, and your clan is just after rebuilding what was lost."

Somberly, she nodded. "That was in the past. Times have changed, and the fighting has long since stopped. My people were once near extinction… as they are now." A faint line of a smile became visible on her lips. "The least I can do as a survivor of my clan is to offer them peace and their freedom."

Her answer surprised him for a brief moment. Examining her scratched face tainted with dried blood, he could see the guilt and want for forgiveness within her violet eyes. Hope was present in them as well – and so was courage and a newfound wisdom he never seen in them before. He let his thoughts wander, wondering what the young woman from the north would have been as a leader such as himself. _A kind leader_ , he thought, _A good leader_. If fate had not allowed her to journey to the harsh desert lands he called home, they could have crossed paths someday as Kazekage and chieftain. Sand and snow would have met under far different circumstances, peace reigning in each of their lands with no threat of Tenbu in sight.

If only it were such a wishful world.

A thought jolted his memory.

From his pack at his belt beside his gourd of sand, he pulled out he cracked porcelain mask he found abandoned in the shadowed forest the night before. The bridge of the mask's nose was a deep crevice, the snarling jaws painted upon it seeming nothing more than a perished howl. The fine red paint that marked it was faded, the careful white detail scratched and broken beyond repair. Holding it out to her, her eyes shot open from the sight.

"That's… -," She stammered, surprised. "My mask -! Where did you -?"

"I found it in the forest - before the mines,"

Taking it in her hands, she examined the cracks that bore through its eyes and nose. Her fingers slowly traced the curves and detail it carried on every edge, her eyes relieved yet saddened by its sorry state. The mask and her were one once, bound by duty and hardship – but now they were soon parted.

"It's broken, but we can always have the village artisans make you a new one. I can send for them when we get back -,"

Smiling softly, she looked up to him. "No," She shook her head. "That's alright, Gaara."

Raising a brow in surprise, he eyed her curiously. "But it's your mask -?"

"This mask was given to me when I began my mission to spy on you for Kenzō."

Her eyes closed halfway, growing somber.

"I was told it was the mark of a tracker-nin, but all I see when I look at it is the mark of a traitor. Commander Moro and you pardoned me for my crimes, but I never truly forgave myself… Even when I would don my mask with pride, the shame of the memories of my treachery still lingered. In a way, it helped me hide from that part of myself… the part that wanted to face my fears." Holding the mask in her hands, she gazed back at its snarling and shattered expression. "But Kenzō is gone now… I have no reason to hide under it any longer. I will let the sands take it." Smiling lightly, she turned to meet his face. "Without the mask, I will always be the _'Wolf of the Desert'_. That's good enough for me."

Surprised by her words, he understood her completely. Without realizing, a faint smile etched itself on his lips. "You're right."

Watching her rest the broken porcelain mask upon the golden sands by their feet, he slowly rose his arm towards it outstretched. Swirling around the mask, the sands grasped onto its cracked and torn edges, pulling it into the depths below. It was not before long that the sands filled the slits of its eyes, pouring into its mouth and filling its broken bridge of a muzzle as it disappeared forever.

 _A wolf does not need a mask_ , she realized, _a wolf no longer needs to hide_.

"…Thank you…"

* * *

 ** _Notes (2020/06/04):_** ...and that is the end of the Tenbu/assassin subplot.

For a little fun-fact, the name "Tenbu" (天部) can be roughly translated to "gods of the heavens" in Japanese. In my early drafts from over a year ago, I was originally going to make Tenbu a group of Ōtsutsuki clan/Kaguya worshippers and have them use my OC's blood for a ritual to try to summon one to earth ( _hence the name_ ). I'm glad I changed it looking back, as it would've been a nightmare to write ( _and possibly an additional 100,000+ words... oof_ )

I was scared when I started writing this segment of the story 20+ chapters back because I was worried I did it very messily and disorganized. To be honest I wrote most of this fanfic rewrite going chapter-by-chapter and I will say it right now: if it's a long-fic... _don't do it, folks!_ If I had a chance to redo this story, I would have written it all first then posted once a week. Instead I rewrote the first 30 chapters and posted them, re-edited 4 of them and changed things, posted 5 new chapters on the fly, added 3 chapters between the middle ( _yikes_ ), and THEN tried writing chapter by chapter once the length exceeded the original fic I posted to Quizilla in 2009 around chapter 34/35. I've learned from my mistakes, so thank you all for reading this far!

I would also like to thank everyone who went out of their way to leave a favourite/kudos, follow/bookmark, and/or review/comment!

I often feel down on myself because I feel my work is always bad or uninteresting, but seeing that others like my work truly makes my day ^-^

Thank you for reading xx


	68. Love

_**Author's Note (2020/06/08):**_ Hey everyone - I'm going to be posting two chapters this week to move things along fic-wise. I want to move on to other things both writing-wise and time-wise (I am a notorious multi-tasker so I have a lot on my plate right now). I'm going to try to post chapters for this story twice a week (every Monday and Thursday) until it's finished. The final chapter (or epilogue) will be posted by itself at the end of the month.

As always, thank you for reading and for your feedback xx

* * *

 **Chapter 68  
** **Love**

* * *

It was not long after the sands swallowed Koga of the Wastes when the forces from Ishigakure finally arrived…

Detaining every surviving member of Tenbu, the shinobi from the Land of Claws returned to their homeland with the scant amount of mercenaries and missing-nin under custody. The gleaming of their black-plated armor turned dull and their emblems were stripped from the metal with their helms thrown away. A lifetime of imprisonment within the dungeons of Ishi seemed fitting. Judgement would be swift, for their crimes extended into the reach of four countries – Claw, Mountain, Wind, and Fire each sought to see the matter settled as quietly and diplomatically as possible. The lands were left in shambles, the battle of the mines forming a scar upon the blackened earth of twisting wastes and death. It appeared as if one of the tailed-beasts ran amok in times of old.

The heart of Sunagakure was silent that afternoon.

In the shadows of the great manse of the past and present Kazekage, the cracks and exposed beams from the attack were still visible from below as if its face were torn clean off from one side. Still, it stood strong against the heat and merciless desert winds that passed it by – although the winds now howled within its sprawling chambers when night fell. The square was absent with life, not a soul or stray dog dared to wander near.

The funeral service proceeded with a dirge.

Sand Priests weaved their way to the front of the memorial with their chants and incense, the colours of their red and gold garbs the only life within a still sea of black and sorrow. The dead were near twenty in count, their names carved onto the headstones that stood before their clay coffins for burial. From shinobi of genin-rank to shinobi bearing the ranks and titles of the Suna ANBU, the etching of their names stood out for all to see. Sohei and the other slain tracker-nin from the mission had their bodies recovered, but Commander Moro was forever lost amongst the ashes that he painted across the forested lands in his final act as a shinobi of Suna. His grave would be marked by a headstone regardless, his titles etched onto the stone that bore his living name. Further amongst their headstones was the one belonging to Shinto. The kanji of his name was etched into the clay stone, the Sunagakure emblem carved underneath.

His name meant _"way of the gods"_ \- perhaps he was with them now in the Pure Land.

Rain never graced the desert lands in centuries, but as Nomasaki stood before his closed coffin and headstone her heart prayed for the rains to return. She could hear the faint sobbing of Meiyumi at her back, her choked back sobs striking her heart strings. Kankuro stood still at the medic's side, offering a glance of empathy while the visiting Konohagakure shinobi looked on nearby. It was the second Sunagakure funeral that was graced by the presence of the foreigners, their colored garbs standing out against the black mourning clothes of the villagers. Beside Nomasaki during the service was Gaara, standing as still and as silent as the statue he appeared to be. As Kazekage, it was his duty to give the opening eulogy. As if stone, he wore his stoic expression with eyes marked in emotional fatigue while he spoke in front of the hundreds of shinobi who came to the service. He had to do the same with the funeral for Elder Chiyo after her sacrifice those four years ago, but standing straight-faced that silent day before the shattered husk of the Kazekage's estate was by far the most difficult goodbye he had done in ages. When he was finished, the Sand Priests returned and said the closing chants.

As he looked to Nomasaki beside him, he saw her blank and drained eyes watching the priests somberly. She appeared as if a ghost, all the life and vibrance gone from her face and mired with a deep and painful loss. Not a word was spoken from her that day, not since returning from the Land of Claws. They spent the night separately due to his injuries, his bed being at the hospital the previous night. Before she could fall asleep at his bedside, she agreed to stay with Meiyumi at her home towards the far east of the village. Taking refuge at their home was a far-off hope. Their home in the great manse was under repair by the village artisans and carpenters until further notice, the bulk of it destroyed by the blast that claimed the lives of many guards – and Shinto, inevitably. Even though Tenbu would never raise as a threat to them or Sunagakure ever again, returning to the normal life they had together would not be an easy path. From the dulled sheen to her purple eyes, he could see the sorrow within them. She lost comrades, friends, and a leader.

 _A shinobi must not show emotion._

 _A shinobi must never show weakness._

Standing silently beside him, she somberly listened to the final chants of the priests amongst the crowd of black garbs. Her eyes glistened in the fading desert sun, but she refused to let the tears grace her face. _It would be an insult to their memory_ , she convinced herself, _Stay strong_. Between them, the sand guided their hands together. From her clasping his hand lightly, he could feel a small tremor through her fingers.

Mourning in silence, she stayed strong – for them all.

* * *

"Are you sure you have to leave so soon?" Gaara asked. "It's a long way back to Konohagakure and the Land of Fire from here. We can provide you all hospitality."

With a light smile, Naruto gave a nod. "Thanks, but we better get going. Kakashi-sensei is waiting for us to report back from the mission."

Understanding, Gaara took in the words. He was grateful for their presence – albeit a near complete surprise. Having them arrive when they did was a fortune. If not, resolving the mess left behind from the battle in the wastes would have taken days. Still, the extra company they provided was needed. After the burial of their fallen, everything around them seemed as if hollowed. Empty. Seated at his desk, the Kazekage's office was one of the only rooms in the great manse to emerge from the Tenbu attack unscathed. Behind him, Kankuro stood and listened, watching the Konoha shinobi with calmed eyes of gratitude.

Narrowing his slightly, Gaara remembered what he wanted to ask. "And Sasuke?"

"…He said he had to return to his assignment." Sakura said, her green eyes somber. "He's probably halfway to the Land of Earth by now."

Gone.

Just as he thought.

"In case you see him before I do, give him my thanks." Gaara nodded, a light smile on his lips. "Without him, the outcome in the wastes could have been much grimmer. He helped saved the surviving Kumatsume clansmen that were rescued, so we owe him one."

Sakura nodded back, relieved. "I'll be sure to pass along your message."

"Speaking of which," Shikamaru entered, his eyes guarded. "It was the heiress of the Hoki Family who informed Hokage-sama of what happened. Hakuto-sama and Shijima-sama told us of what transpired at the family's compound. The hawk from Suna received arrived shortly before we departed, to tell you the truth."

Kankuro looked to Gaara in surprise. "How would they have known?"

"She said they encountered a man named Moro and his tracker-nin." Shikamaru spoke. "They mentioned Nomasaki-sama by name, so I'm guessing it was before she was taken captive by Koga and that Tenbu organization."

Gaara nodded, his saddened eyes wandering to the surface of his desk. "I see."

"In any case, we should get going." Temari said, eyeing her younger brothers. "It's a three-day journey to Konoha from here, and it's the dry season. We don't want to be caught in a sandstorm on the way back."

"Take care," Gaara said, feigning a light smile. "Best travels to all of you."

"Until next time, Gaara." Naruto nodded, his smile solemn.

After the door closed behind them, he glanced down at this lap. Breathing easy, the wound in his abdomen pained only slightly. The dressing over the gash was still fresh from healing, heaving lightly with each breath from his lungs. Under his black funeral garbs, his mortality lay hidden from others but his ribs ached from each step. Thoughts eased through his exhausted mind, the day's events seeming as if a strange blur.

"Kankuro," He spoke, turning towards him from his seat. "Have you seen Nomasaki?"

"Not since the funeral, but she can't be too far." Curious, he raised a brow. "Why?"

Averting his eyes, the Kazekage eased back into his seat. "It's nothing, it's just…" Glancing towards the window at his right, he came to terms. "I need to speak with her, that's all."

* * *

Under the departing desert sun, the skies soon turned a rich orange.

Seated on a stone bench beyond the lively streets below, Nomasaki sat and watched the world before her. The village was alive with the sounds of summer, but inside she felt dead and the cry for winter in her bones. The wind passed her by lightly, flowing her long golden strands as her eyes plead for the pain still felt in her heart to stop. Solitude was her crutch, hiding out her pain where no one else would see. She was one of the first to leave during the burial. She decided she had seen enough. For hours she watched the village from above the hill of sands and scattered desert scrubs, the odd flowering cactus giving her some form of comfort. She only wanted sleep to arrive, hoping that everything was just a horrible dream with the hope that tomorrow would be different.

The winds picked up, swaying her hair against her drained face.

Sensing his chakra appear from his sands did nothing to draw her attention. Unmoving her melancholic gaze from the streets painted by the growing sunset, Gaara sat beside her on the stone-carved bench. Eyeing her in a glance tinged with empathy, he waited for her to say something.

"Shinto told me once… that he wanted to see the ocean…"

Looking down at the black lap of her skirt, she hesitated to get the words out from her throat. Her voice was calm and quiet, but the sobs she withheld still lingered beneath. The pain was a silent essence wedged between them. Only the soft winds seemed to bring some form of ease.

"He said he wanted to see what it was, what it looked like…" She said, quietly. "It was then that I realized I never seen the ocean either. I only knew the mountains of the north and the sands of the south. I told him… I would join him, so we could both see it for ourselves one day. I guess that seems impossible now…"

Following her gaze, he watched the streets as well. "I didn't realize."

"Gaara,"

"Hm?"

"Can you… take me to see the ocean someday?" She asked, quietly. "I… want to see it with my own eyes – and for him, too…"

"Yes." He nodded, in understanding. "We can."

"Thank you, Gaara… It means a lot…" A faint laugh escaped her lips momentarily, the sobs hidden below rising through the cracks of her silent voice. "He loved me, you know. He told me… on the last day I seen him alive. He said he did all this time… and I only thought of him as a friend – and now… he's gone…"

"…I knew."

Turning to him, her dulled violet eyes widened. "You did -?"

Looking down at the sands, he gave a subtle nod from his messy hair of crimson. "Before he died,"

Rising his head to meet her eyes, he felt the painful memory resurface. His confession, the red that painted his flak jacket, and his dying smile. All tore him inside to remember. He felt his chest grow heavy with the burden, his ringed-eyes tinged with her shared grief and upmost sympathy.

"Shinto risked his life not only for the good of the village – but for you, too. He really loved you, Nomasaki… I could tell. He was a man of his word."

Gazing back towards the streets coated in sunset, she breathed easy in her sorrow while his eyes followed towards her view of the desert village below. "Everything feels like such a blur to me… The failed mission, my tracking unit, Tenbu, his death - everything…" Looking down to her lap, the tears returned to her eyes. "I feel almost guilty for feeling so happy with you where I know Shinto will never be happy again. It feels as if whenever things are peaceful, something horrible happens and I… -," Wiping the silent tears from her cheeks, she gave a humored sigh. "Sorry. It's… been difficult for me to process."

"It's alright, I understand." Turning to her, he gave her a pleading glance. "…but Shinto would want you to be happy, Nomasaki."

"I know, it's just… -,"

She felt her words come to an end.

Her head hung low, she hid her drained expression by the cover of her long gold, the winds silencing around them. A quiet sigh escaped her lips, tired of the emotional toll of living and wanting for the pain to end. Seeing her the way she was pained him just as equally, his heart wanting nothing more than to remedy what plagued her. He never seen her eyes so dull, the lilac appearing as if wilted.

"How can I be happy?" Her voice lamented. "My heart is broken…"

Warmth graced her.

Startling her, Gaara took her hand in his. Guiding her softly, he placed her palm over his chest as he looked into her wide eyes in stern devotion. His hands felt comforting and warm over her touch, her fingers sensing the fabric of his funeral garbs and his beating heart. His heart. Striking her, she met his eyes with a glance of glistening silence.

"Do you feel that?" He said, clasping her hand gingerly. "It's beating. Flesh, blood – _alive._ " Slowly, he moved her hand over her own chest, resting it gently upon her. She could sense her own heartbeat beneath her palm, fluttering as she felt his fingers over hers. _Alive_ – just as he said. "You feel it, don't you? Your heart… It's beating, too."

The slow release of his hands from her left a cold between them, the winds at their backs returning. Feeling her fragile heart sound lightly through her fingertips, she listened carefully. With his eyes firm, he watched her beside him.

"Life is for the living – and you're alive, Nomasaki – because of his sacrifice and because you believe in yourself."

Averting his glance towards the sands, he held his head down in remembrance of the words of his late beloved uncle. Yashamaru. He was a child back then, he remembered, a child who knew nothing of what would later befall him as a hated and feared jinchuriki. A monster. The memory of his uncle's wound upon his finger struck his recollections, his caring eyes of deep violet looking down at him as he said the words…

" _Love is… the unconditional care and devotion you feel for the precious ones around you,_ " Yashamaru said to him that day, _"What's troublesome are wounds to the heart… and sometimes they never heal…"_

Remembering the rest, Gaara placed his hand over hers on the bench, grasping it gently. Looking into her glistening eyes as the sky turned to a deepening orange, he felt his chest swell with warmth. Smiling gently, he gave a sincere and loving glance from his ringed tanuki eyes.

"The only cure for a broken heart is the love from another… and I love you, Nomasaki. I'm here for you… always."

With teary loving eyes, she felt her lips form a soft smile upon her face. Nodding once, she felt the warmth return and the weight of her sorrow finally left her at peace. _A man of few words,_ she recalled, _but he knew the right words_. "Gaara," She spoke, heartfelt and eyes glistening. "I love you more than anything... Thank you."

Catching her by surprise, she saw a thin and gentle stream of sands swirl together in his open palm. When they solidified, she saw the sands take the shape of a rose. It appeared as if one of the roses she saw within the gardens of the Kazekage's estate with nearly every fine detail etched by the grains.

Hesitating at first, she took it from his held-out palm. She could not help but smile as she examined its detail and likeness. A desert rose. "It's so pretty," She awed. "How did you -?"

"I practiced making them a few years ago, after the war ended… for you." He smiled to himself, looking back towards the village. "I… planned on giving you one, but… the timing seemed to always be against me."

A quiet laugh escaped her lips as the tears began to flow from her eyes again. Rising to meet her, she wiped them away from her cheeks with her fingertips. "I'm sorry, Gaara." She smiled, painstakingly. "I can't stop them! Really, I'm trying…" Glancing down at the lap of her skirt, she smiled softly to herself in her thoughts. "The timing was never perfect for us… When you first found me, the war, falling in love… Time seemed to always be against us no matter what." Lifting her gaze towards the sunset-ridden streets of the village, she felt the wind pass by them, soothingly. "We are shinobi. Time is never on our side. Isn't that what we're taught? Although…-," Glancing at the desert rose she held close, she felt her heart warm. "…For once, it seems that the timing is changing to our side."

The winds passed them by again, swaying crimson and gold in its path.

"I have to ask… Did you… really mean what you said – when we were in the wastes? About… being engaged?"

He nodded. "Every word."

As she turned to meet his face, her heart fluttered within her chest. From the protective and loving sheen to his turquoise eyes, she could tell he meant his word after all. Betrothed. A faint sheen of warmth flushed to her cheeks, prompting her to avert her gaze.

"I see," She nodded, smiling warmly. "So that means… I will one day be your wife."

A light smile formed on his lips. "I'll have to tell the council tomorrow, and we have to get the blessings from the Sand Priests at their temple… It's bothersome, but it's tradition in these lands." He turned to her, meeting her vibrant purple eyes that he loved. "We'll be joining clans. You'll be joining my clan – of the Kazekage."

"That's right," She nodded with a smile. "That means you're also joining my clan, the Yamamori. There's... something I want to tell you as well,"

"What's that?"

Smiling, she eyed his curious expression warmly. "I'm keeping my clan name. I may be joining your clan, but I will always be a Yamamori at heart. _'A wolf has their pride'_ , as they say… and I'm not abandoning mine until the grave."

With a sigh, a smirk passed his lips. "You drive a hard bargain."

"Bargain?" She mused. "Just wait until my father issues the dowry."

His eyes grew stunned, taken aback. "What dowry -?"

A chuckle escaped her as she seen his surprised expression, a playful nature sneaking through her smile. For a brief glimpse, her canines poked through her laughing. "Don't worry, I'm only kidding! What do you take me for, Kazekage-sama? A piece of property?"

"My wife." He said, his eyes unwavering from hers.

She paused.

Blushing from his words, she looked back down towards the flower she held on her lap. Wife. The sound of the word coming from him was strange yet comforting to her all at once. "Yes," She said. "But jokes aside, we still need to tell my father. We'll need his blessing, too, so how about once we -?"

Catching her attention, she heard the rustling of his clothes as he stood. Before she had the chance to ask what he was doing, she witnessed him kneel before her on the sand-ridden ground. She felt as if her heart stopped in that moment. Holding her hand gingerly in his, a faint aura of sand flowed between them. Swallowing his pride and nervousness, he gazed into her stunned lilac eyes with a protective and devoted sheen. His heart was held on his sleeve, exposed for her to take for all it was.

"Nomasaki of the Yamamori clan," He began, his voice steady. "As the Fifth Kazekage… I'm asking you to be my wife."

Feeling her tears begin to form and swell, she closed her glistening eyes and held her head down. Holding his hand softly in return, her touch surprised him slightly. As she silently sobbed while the tears streamed down her cheeks, she nodded twice.

"Gaara the Fifth Kazekage," She sobbed, quietly, remembering the words of the exchange. "As a Yamamori clansman, I accept…!" Opening her eyes, she met his unwavering gaze of adoration and devotion, her eyes exerting the same to him. Gently, she placed her palm on the side of his face. As her tears fell from her eyes of lilac, she warmly smiled. "I will accept you as my husband."

Under the fading desert sun, their lips met as they embraced in each other's arms. Her heart fluttered as if back to life, overjoyed with what she felt in that moment. Unlike the last time, her lips did not taste like iron. Everything was in its right place – the timing finally on their side. When they parted, he gingerly wiped away the last of her tears from her closed eyes as he cradled her blushing and smiling face in his palms.

"I'm sorry, Gaara," She smiled, warmly. "I've always been a crier… but they're happy tears, I promise…"

Touching his forehead against hers in embrace, he smiled from the heart. "It's alright," He said, closing his eyes. "I know…"

Never before had their hearts felt fuller. Lost in their comforting embrace, they forgot about the world around them and all that plagued it. Softly, the sands circled her finger, forming into a band of hardened minerals. A ring of the desert, the grains within it shining from the dimming sun above them. It put even the beauty of the rose to shame. Promising themselves to each other that day until their last, the desert village would come to play host to an unexpected wedding that arriving late summer.

It was to be a wedding between a tanuki and a wolf.


	69. Of the Snow

**_Author's Note (2020/06/11):_ **Hey everyone! This chapter marks near ~300k words on FFN and ~290k on AO3 (and the ever-so-mature chapter number 69... ha). This story has also broke past 100 followers on FFN recently so I just want to say thank you to all who've followed, favourited, and reviewed over the year since I've started posting this rewrite! We are officially in the ending epilogue section with an air of slice of life, so be prepared for incoming fluff.

Stay safe everyone xx

* * *

 **Chapter 69  
** **Of the Snow**

* * *

Their footsteps crunched upon the soft beds of fallen snow as they met them on the silent tundra.

Before them in their sights were great huts fashioned of mammoth hide and tusks and fires were lit under the cooking meats. Tanners were busy staining the fresh pelts of the hunted mammoths and skinned elk for clothes while children laughed and played with bones and sticks, their mothers and fathers keeping a watchful eye. The Kumatsume clan were settled upon the great tundra near the fields of winter rice and wheat, the free people cultivating the harsh lands with ease and harmony with the other scattered mountain-folk. For the first time in generations, the bear-people and the wolf-people could finally live in peace with one another.

Clothed in animal hides and furs over their warm layered kimonos, a group of clansmen stood to greet the cloak-clad Kazekage and his violet-eyed bride-to-be. In the center stood an aged man of white hair and wild beard, his top-knot signifying his status – the elder of the clan. Close by was the green-eyed girl Nomasaki remembered from the cave only weeks ago, her dark hair neatly combed and her eyes full of life. Sana. A katana was strapped to the hip of each of the five clansmen who stood in the snow before them, their faces kind and welcoming.

"Thanks to the efforts of Sunagakure and Ishigakure, we of the Kumatsume clan are now free men." The elder began. "Yamagakure has been very accommodating - the Yamamori clan, too. Our people are getting used to the climate, and already they're farming on the permafrost." Bowing his white head of wild hair, he showed his gratitude to the shinobi before him. "We also owe you a thank you as well, Nomasaki-sama, Kazekage-sama. If it weren't for you, we would still be bound to those accursed mines in the darkness… so thank you."

Bowing back lightly, Nomasaki smiled. "No need to thank us – really," She assured, the fur of her cloak warming her rosy cheeks in the cold. "I just… did what I had to do, as a shinobi. Koga and Kenzō were monsters… there was no way we could've sat by idly. Freedom is not something you earn - it's something all deserve."

Giving a heartfelt and curious glance, she examined their grateful eyes. Even as they stood still on the tundra against its chilling soft winds, she could sense the nature energy that lay dormant in their blood. It was within each and every one of them, as if sleeping under some spell of old. It appeared the fabled Sage of Six Paths had paid a visit to both clans in the ancient times, gifting both clans with the strange power of a beast.

"Are you sure you don't want me to unseal your bloodline? The Reverse Sealing may be forbidden, but I was able to formulate it safely with some changes to the seal formula after some studying with the Suna Sealing Corps. The formula Reto-sama used was undone, so it would be of no trouble or qualms for Suna." She offered, kindly. "I'm sure my clansmen would be also willing to teach your people how to control nature energy for your kekkei genkai, since ours are similar to another."

One of the bearded Kumatsume rose his palm, a smile under his hairy mustache. "No need, m'lady, but thank you. We've grown used to being as we are, but if the time arises, we will surely seek you out. Thank you, truly."

Nodding, Gaara gave a calm glance. "If there's anything Sunagakure can do during this peace treaty, don't hesitate to send us a hawk."

"Much obliged, Kazekage-sama." The elder, bowed. "We thank you."

Holding the hilt of her katana, Sana smiled towards them. A wave of courage and pride was marked onto her lips, the frightened and timid girl from the caves now gone forever. Garbed in her hides and tunic of warm fabrics, she stood alongside her clansmen proudly.

"Now it's up to us to return the favor - we're going to rid the world of slaves." She exclaimed. "There's a ship sailing out of the Land of Wind's port in a fortnight to the continents across the silver waters. We're going to free as many as we can, just as you did for us."

"The silver waters," Nomasaki repeated, awed. "Have a safe journey, then. We wish you well."

Sana bowed, the others beside her soon following suit. "Thank you, m'lady. We hope to cross paths with you again someday."

As they parted ways towards the great mountains further north, Gaara gave her a glance from under the cover of his Kazekage's hat, its white flaps fluttering lightly in the cold and gentle winds. "You've done a good thing for them, freeing their clan." He said. "They owe their lives to you."

Humbled, she looked to the towering peak in their path. "They don't owe me anything. If anything, I still owe you my life." She smiled, turning to him. "You saved my life many times, in more ways I can count… the least I can do is give you mine in return."

Turning back to the approaching mountain, a smile formed on his lips. "As you say."

Her footsteps paused.

In the wake of the forest that followed the mountain path in a white haze of frost, Nomasaki looked to the west. Something was approaching closer from the far reaches of the tundra, the chakra strong and welcoming. Realizing what it was, her violet eyes widened in its direction. She could not help but smile in her pleasant surprise.

"What is it?"

"A friend,"

In the cover of white that fell lightly from the skies above, Gaara seen them. With a heavy brown cloak of fine fabric over his shoulders, Naruto's blonde hair stood out from the tundra as if the sun. The gleam of his forehead protector only confirmed it in their eyes, the symbol of Konoha etched clear as day for them to see. As he stepped out from the snowy winds, Naruto looked upon them in stunned amazement.

"Gaara?" He glanced, wide-eyed. "Huh? Nomasaki? What are you two doing here?"

"Diplomacy," Gaara replied, a light smile on his lips. "We're overseeing the integration of the Kumatsume clan into the Land of Mountains."

"It also doesn't hurt to visit my father either," Nomasaki entered, glancing to the Kazekage with a playful gleam in her eye. Meeting Naruto's face, she smiled kindly. "He's the chieftain of this village, my father."

Naruto blinked, surprised. "Really? You don't say!" Lost in deep thought, he narrowed his blue eyes, examining her face at a distance. "Now that you mention it… you do have a similar face shape…" A gleam from her hand caught his eye, near taking the breath from his lungs at the sight. "Wait – what's that on your finger?!"

"Oh," With a timid smile, she held it up for him to see. "That's my ring."

"Y-Your ring?" Shocked, he looked to Gaara beside her. "Are you two -?" Without a second thought, the young Kazekage nodded with a smile. Beaming, the Konoha ninja wrapped his arms around the two. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Naruto." Gaara gave a nod, his eyes turning stern as they parted. "Just keep your voice down. Her father doesn't know yet. That's partially why we're here in the first place."

"O-Oh, right. Sorry about that," He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "I just finished a solo mission in the Land of Earth for Kakashi-sensei and I figured I'd take the Land of Mountains as a detour. This land is so different than back home, the snow is nice for a change. Hey – before I go, how about the three of us do something together?"

"Are you sure Hokage-sama is alright with you taking your time?"

"He's lucky I even went!" Naruto scoffed. "I had to exchange some intel to Sasuke for his mission… The bastard didn't even have the decency to stick around and chat! I swear, him turning into a wanderer did nothing for his social skills. Sakura is left home worrying about him constantly… He's due to return soon to Konoha but I wouldn't count on it -,"

A distant howl sounded on the winds.

Looking to the silent kunoichi at his side, Gaara gave her a curious glance. "What is it?"

"Nothing serious," She assured. "It's my clan. They're just communicating."

Another howl.

Taking a few steps into the snow of the tundra, she paused. After hearing another howl echo across the lands, she took in a deep breath and howled in return. The sound burst from her fanged jaws into the snowy skies with a following silence, alarming Naruto while Gaara remained calm and silent. The winds turned quiet as her jaws closed, waiting for the sounds to return.

Then a howl answered.

Gaara stepped closer. "What are they saying?"

Meeting his ringed-eyes, she smiled. "It's a summon to the shrine. Some children of the clan have come of age, it's a ceremony. I'll meet you in the village after it's done."

"Alright," He nodded. "Be careful."

Smiling back, she gave a parting wave to the two and took a few steps back. Shifting within a breeze of the snow-painted winds that blew past, the winds swept her dark fur-lined cloak that shrouded over her blue kimono. Within a glimpse of the blinding snows, she transformed into a great wolf of white fur and feral purple eyes. Digging her claws into the tundra, she bounded against the snow as if a ghost amongst the winds, towering over the humans she passed. Startled, Naruto fell onto the snow at his back with a thud. In a matter of moments, the blur of white fur vanished into the frosted conifer trees behind them. A beast.

"What the -?! She's huge -!" He stammered, bewildered. "I swear she was normal wolf-size last time I seen her -!?"

"The Yamamori clan's kekkei genkai transformation grows larger as they age," Gaara explained, calmly. "She reached her limit when she reached adulthood at eighteen."

Scoffing to himself, Naruto grumbled under his icy breath. "Let's hope so… or you'll find yourself ripped to shreds in your first argument as a married couple…"

"What did you say?"

"N-Nothing! Let's go somewhere to catch up."

* * *

Under the glow of paper lanterns, the snow-filled streets hummed peacefully with the chatter of the night.

Shinobi dressed in the flak jackets and garbs of Yamagakure sat red-faced and gleeful with their comrades at the bars and storefronts. Even those of the purple-eyed clan were part of the festivities, the ceremony-goers still set on celebrating the day into the dark of the night. A few Kumatsume clansmen lingered about as well, joining in with the haze of the rowdy night in the tiny mountain village. The echoing and comradery seemed enough to wake the dead – or the even the sleeping forest spirits the elders have long said to have lived amongst the trees. The kodama were at least kind and timid spirits, unlike the howling yamabiko that would have certainly disturbed the peace, being the natural tricksters they were. But both were simply stories told from the village elders, nothing more.

Seated at a dango bar, Naruto drank his sake with a beaming grimace. "The sake here is so strong compared to back home," He sighed, placing the cup on the counter. "At least it tastes good…" Noticing his silent friend beside him, he gave a curious glance. "Gaara -? Are you gonna have yours?"

Hesitantly, the Kazekage looked down at the cup in his hand. His hat and gourd aside at his feet, he mulled over taking his first drink. "I've never acquired a taste for it, to be honest." Brushing aside his nervousness, he gave in, rising the cup to his lips. "Since it's a special occasion, maybe just tonight."

Nomasaki smiled beside him, her cup already empty. "You think it's a special occasion? To tell my father, I mean."

"Perhaps," Grimacing back the bitter taste of alcohol, he swallowed his first shot. The cup made a clinging sound as it rested on the countertop, the beckoning for more already sounding. Turning towards her in his seat, he gave her a curious look from his tanuki-like eyes while his lips formed a slight smirk. "Just so we're on the same page… There's no secret clan rituals I don't know about, is there?"

She smirked back, holding her cup towards him. "Give me the alcohol and I'll tell you anything."

"Deal,"

After he passed her the bottle to pour her next drink, she told him anything and everything he asked. She told him how the tales of werewolves were of her people dating back centuries, how the moon never provoked a change to a beast, her disdain for horses and dogs, and the spirits the elders were said to have lived in the great snowy forest around them. All had not fascinated him as much as the sheen of her violet eyes from the lantern light as they talked. The ringing of her laugh and the fangs that he could see poking out from her mouth with each blushing sound made him feel as if it were their first time alone all over again.

Love was indeed a strange thing.

* * *

Midnight approached.

"I'm so happy you guys are together! No, seriously -," Naruto awed, his words becoming slurred as his face grew flushed from the alcohol. Placing a hand on the Kazekage's slouched shoulder, he leaned in. "Gaara, you deserve to be happy just as much as anyone. I'm so glad… so glad - you two are getting hitched! No, really – I am."

Glancing to him, Gaara met his expression near as flushed as he was. His face felt hot, his mind strangely eased and inhibition slowly receding. It near frightened him to grasp the unknown feeling. Maintaining sober thought, he nodded. "Thanks. It means a lot coming from you, Naruto." Narrowing his ringed-eyes, he gave him a stern and flushed glance. "…but keep your voice down, we can't let the whole village know…"

"Sorry, sorry!" Naruto chuckled, easing off. "I'm just excited for you, is all! By the way… are you going to finish that?"

Noticing the sake bottle in front of him, he shrugged. "It's all yours." Resting his elbows on the counter, he ran his fingers groggily through his messy red hair. "I feel… strange. Does sake normally do this?"

"Do what?"

Watching him pour another drink, Gaara averted his eyes. "Never mind…"

As Naruto took another shot, from what he saw from the corner of his eye made him gulp the sake back in horror. "Nomasaki -! You're drinking directly from the bottle!?"

Smiling from ear to ear, she let out a calming sigh as she finished chugging what was left of the intoxicating drink. Placing the empty clay bottle on the counter, the two watched cautiously as she swayed back into her seat with a grinning blush across her flushed cheeks in the cold. The calm before the storm – or so they have been told.

"Why not?" She mused. "I can handle my liquor pretty well, if I don't say so myself. Look – I can count how many drinks!" With glossy eyes, she counted the drinks on her fingers. "One, two… three? No… five? Four - four drinks. Oh, and the rest of the bottle just now. I think that's… eight? Yeah, eight."

Brushing off the horror he witnessed, Naruto turned to Gaara. "So… when's the wedding?"

"Later in the summer," Gaara said. "Once we get the blessings from the council and the Sand Priests, it's said and done." Remembering what awaited him in the morning, a shiver of nervousness crept into his throat. It caught him off guard. "...and from her father, Kyo-sama. The chieftain."

"Ah, really? Blessings? I should remember your culture is different than mine. I just asked Hinata's dad Hisashi-sama for his approval before I popped the question and… no, that was it."

Resting her hand under her chin, Nomasaki let out a soft sigh in thought. "I wonder how the council will react… They wanted us married a few months back, but I feel they still don't fully approve of me because of my clan." Her eyes glanced to the Kazekage with a glossy tint hiding her past hurt. "Those old-folks wanted you to marry that heiress back then, remember? In that arranged marriage to that woman of the Hoki Family -,"

"W-What?" Naruto interrupted, shocked. "You were in an arranged marriage?!"

"That's behind us," Gaara replied, averting Naruto's widened eyes and gaping mouth. A faint flush was visible on his face as he turned to meet Nomasaki beside him, his mind still unaware of the alcohol in his system. "Anyways, I could care less of what they say. They're just a group of non-discerning geezers… I only need to tell them of the marriage. It's tradition, nothing more. If they disagree, that's their problem. I'm the Kazekage... they can't treat me as if a child."

Leaning in closer, she gave a playful grin. "Maybe I should convince them otherwise. After all, I can be very convincing."

"Bare your fangs towards them might render them heart attacks," He laughed under his breath. "I can do the talking alone, don't worry."

Looking up towards the lanterns above, she let her thoughts take her. "I hope my father doesn't take the news too hard… I'm sure he'll be over the moon, but for some reason I can't help but be nervous."

"Did you see him today?"

She shook her head. "His attendants said he was hunting wild boar in the forest with some of his guardsmen," She sighed. "He should be back by the morning, before we return home to Sunagakure."

Hearing Naruto give a grumble in thought, they both turned to meet his curious and glossy blue eyes. His bandaged hand was held to his chin, examining the two carefully. "I wonder…" He began, his words slurred slightly. "Which one of you is the strongest?"

"Gaara's a Kage," Nomasaki chuckled. "I'm just a drunken wolf with the rank of jonin -,"

"No no, I mean physical strength!" He corrected himself. Catching the glimpse of the food on their counter, his mind suddenly came up with a challenge. "Look – there's one dumpling left. How about you two arm-wrestle for it! Winner takes all!"

Gaara jolted slightly in his seat. "I don't know…" He said, averting his eyes. "I don't really want to -,"

"Come on, Gaara," Naruto groaned. "Loosen up! It's just for fun!"

"Naruto said it's just for fun," Hearing her voice took him by surprise. Smiling softly in her flushed state, she gave an assuring glance. "We'll be married soon, and we'll be busy planning things. Let's have a little fun before that starts. After the wedding, we'll have all the time in the world to have fun like this."

He surprised himself from the words he uttered. "Alright… If you insist,"

Placing their elbows on the sturdy counter, the two clasped hands while looking into each other's eyes with an air of competition. Standing excitedly and drunk, Naruto gave the starting signal with the pump of his fist in the cold mountain air.

"Alright – go!"

Gripping each other tightly, their match began.

He could feel his sand quicken to harden under his sleeve, his Sand Armor already coming to his aid from the hand that attempted to make him submit. Looking towards her, he saw her violet eyes focused and unwavering. Her grip was strong, her strength even surprising himself for her dainty and slender figure. A beast lurked within her blood – he had to remember. A smirk found itself etched upon his face, relishing in the act.

"I don't want to hurt you, Nomasaki." He said with a taunt. "My sand acts on itself, you know."

"Oh, I know," She mused, smirking back. "… but so does my power!"

A wave of strength suddenly overcame him – catching him off guard from his winning chance. Slamming his sand-covered fist onto the counter, the hand of his bride claimed victory. Shocked into silence, Naruto twitched at the sight.

"N… Nomasaki wins…?!"

And the last dumpling was hers.

* * *

Stumbling on the snowy path, Nomasaki emerged the most sober of the three.

Leaving Naruto to sleep off his impending hangover at the village inn, the two departed into the streets of white and silence. The lanterns were all that guided their way against the snow at their path. The storefronts were closed and the loud drunken cheers of comradery had gone silent with the night hours. With Gaara's arm slung over her shoulder, she guided him over the treacherous steps of snow and ice as the light of the old stone lanterns lit their way back to the chieftain's residence on the hill. He was coherent in his mind but most uncoordinated in his movements. For the first time in his life, the Kazekage was close to being drunk. Even in the dim light, she could see the flushing of his face and the glossy coating over his seafoam eyes. Sake did not take to him kindly – or else he could have walked by himself.

"You didn't have to go so easy on me back there, I could tell you were holding back."

"I wasn't, believe me," He chuckled under his breath, the air turning to vapor before him. "You just… took me by surprise."

His footing stumbled, his sand barely being able to catch up with its master. Holding onto him firmly, she giggled. "Gaara, you're walking like you have two left feet. Even your sand is sluggish."

"The sake affected me more than I anticipated… How do you cope?"

"Laying down… or vomiting. Both help."

A faint laugh passed his lips in the cold.

The hill was just before them now, its winding road in their reach. As they started up the path, he felt his footing turn against him again. "Easy, easy," Catching him, she held her free hand behind his back for extra support. "We're almost there, just a few more steps,"

"Just imagine… the Kazekage… defeated by mere four shots of alcohol," He scoffed under his breath. "I don't think I'm drunk, but my body feels tired… and most uncooperative…"

"It'll pass," She assured. "I feel the same. We paced ourselves, we'll be alright."

Starting up the incline, they made it to firm ground. The porch was straight ahead, its entrance welcoming and lantern lights dimmed. A warm bed was waiting for them, a relief from the impending hangovers that would greet them in the morning hours. Pushing himself, Gaara overestimated his strength. Stumbling under his own steps, the Kazekage collapsed.

"Gaara -!"

Before she had a chance to react, she fell on top of him on the snow.

Startling him from the sudden contact, all he could do was stare into her eyes in silence as the cold from the snow eased through the cloak and Kazekage's hat he wore at his back. Surprised and blushing, she could not find the words to say either. It was the closest they have been in weeks, his stay in the hospital and village diplomacy keeping them apart. Even as he felt her clothed body over his, his heart yearned for her as it did when they were alone.

Realizing their position, he closed his ringed-tanuki eyes and smiled to himself. "You're right… I do have two left feet."

Hearing a laugh pass her lips enticed him. Softly, he touched her blushing cheek with his cold hand as the snowflakes danced around them. Gently, their lips met under the silent snowfall. Something stirred inside him, something as if awoken by the beverage his body could hardly handle. Parting from each other, he looked into her vibrant lilac eyes that gazed back at him so lovingly.

"Answer me this… How can someone… as pretty and nice as you… love me back?"

Bashful, she chuckled under the comfort of her furred cloak. Smiling gently, she placed her hands along his jawline. "You are you. Ever since you first showed me kindness, I started to fall for you… for the kind, wise, and grumpy person you are."

"Grumpy?"

She nodded. "Yes, grumpy."

Lovingly, she leaned in and kissed him again. Holding her in his arms, he stayed on the snow, refusing to let the cold make them part. Chuckling under his breath as they exchanged glances, his arms relaxed as he watched Nomasaki rise from his lap. Grasping his hand, she lifted him onto his feet, his sand still slow to rejoin him.

"Let's go inside, the winds are growing colder."

* * *

Making their way into the guestroom, they hung up their cloaks against the wall along the finely crafted hooks.

Not a single sound echoed within the chieftain's manse, the guards were gone and the housekeepers were sleeping in their chambers. Although fuzzy from the alcohol, she could still sense the chakra around them. Only theirs lingered close by. The guestroom was large and formal room with a bed coated in animal pelts from many different creatures, the furs creating a collage of warmth. Unlike the last time where they slept separate, they were fortunate enough to have a bed suitable for the two of them. Gaara's coordination improved by the time they were inside, carefully rising from his lean on her shoulder to walk on his own to place the Kazekage's hat and his sand gourd on the chair at the far side of the room. Sobriety finally approached them after many hours of pleasant chatter and snowy walks, the gloss in their eyes and the flushing from their cheeks receding.

After sliding the paper door closed, Nomasaki heard his footsteps approaching her from behind. "Ga -,"

Turning around, she hardly had any time to say his name while she felt his hands grasp her shoulders and hold her against the door as he kissed her tenderly. Overcome with feeling, she forgot what she wanted to say and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hungrily in return.

His hands trailed slowly from her shoulders to her waist, caressing the blue fabric that hugged her body. Between lustful breaths, her fingers found the buttons of his shirt, undoing them hastily as she felt his want for her pressing against her through his pants. Her fingers traced down the warm skin of his strong chest, feeling the white cloth that concealed his mortal wound. The bandages were still wrapped along his abdomen, the reminder of his injury pushed to the far back of his mind. Her gentle touch enticed him, unraveling his restraint on desire. It had been many weeks since they last shared a bed, and they could hold back no longer. Sparks drew them in, their bodies aching for another. Kissing her passionately, he pulled himself closer to her hips. Before she knew it, he was at the collar of her kimono, his lips at her neck as she felt the cool air caress her skin. A soft moan escaped her. While his teeth grazed her, his gentle hands traveled to where her breasts lay covered, his touch wandering down to undo the white obi across her waist.

Leaning towards her ear hidden by her long strands of gold, she felt him release her, his hot breath on her tingling skin.

"We should go to bed…" He whispered.

She whispered back, meeting his tanuki-like eyes in the darkness. "We should…"

Picking her up in his strong arms, he laid her down onto the bed of animal pelts and kissed her with as much love as he could fathom. One by one, their clothes pooled onto the tatami floor. Meeting each other's eyes in the scarce snowy moonlight, they fell into the furs as they felt the fire and ice clash amongst their skin.

Disappearing into the blankets below…

* * *

 _ **..more notes (2020/06/11)**_ : The forest spirits that are mentioned are inspired by Japanese mythology, particularly stories of yōkai.

Kodama (木霊) meaning "tree spirit" are timid spirit-like creatures that were said to inhabit healthy forests and even had connections to mountains and mountain gods. The yamabiko (山彦) meaning "mountain echo" are yōkai that live in mountainous regions and are responsible for the delayed sounds heard in mountains and valleys. They appear as if a cross between a dog and a monkey and are much easily heard than seen.


	70. Hope

_**Author's Note (2020/06/17):**_ Only three more chapters left! Sorry this one was posted later than expected - life kind of got in the way. Thank you all for reading through this monster of a fanfic! I definitely did not anticipate it going over 100k words, let alone ~300k words! The end is in clear sight, so relief is on the horizon - rest assured. That being said, lockdown is still a thing but the weather is finally getting nicer so I can *sorta* go outside (at least with a mask).

Stay safe everyone xx

* * *

 **Chapter 70  
** **Hope**

* * *

Sleeping in the guest chambers, they dreamt comfortably away from the cold and ice that night.

The bed was made of silken sheets and a thick blanket of furs made from the hides of elk and fox, coating them in its warmth. Feeling her cold naked body against his was something he ached for, his hands tracing the curves of her scarred back and hips, pulling her to his warmth while his head rested beside hers on the pillow. Being near death made him fear he would never hold her again, never smell the sweet scent of her hair, and being together with her in that moment meant everything. Her skin was cool, soft, and as comforting as he remembered. Nuzzled close, they slept soundly throughout the night.

Waking groggily, he saw her laying before him. Her body turned with her sleeping expression facing him, the golden hue of her head poking over the blanket of furs. It was the first night in weeks since they shared a bed, and he found himself awed at the sight before him. Softly, he kissed her forehead. Sensing her stir silently, he met her flickering eyes of sleep and her gentle smile. Smiling, she rose to meet his lips, laying before him on the pillow as they lovingly looked into each other's eyes in the night. He remembered she said something, her voice whispering a giggle before she rested her head upon his bare chest as he held her in his arms under the furs.

 _"I love you... so much..."_

When he woke the second time, there was an empty space on the bed where she slept.

Gone.

The blankets were kept tidily as if she were never there in the first place.

Reminding him of their first night, his heart was at ease and content. Finally, the only threats they had to face were the disgruntled elders of his council and her weary father who slept two rooms down the wide corridor. Not even a hangover dared to break his waking thoughts. The sake not only gave him the strength to last but also helped him sleep at ease for the first time in nearly a month. His insomnia would not be claiming him anytime soon - that was for certain. Rising slowly, Gaara rubbed his eyes as his feet met the cold tatami floor. Pulling up his pants while he stood from the bed, he fixed the bedsheets and brushed off the faint grains of sand that marked his existence. Catching his attention, he saw the rest of his clothes slung over the chair across the room.

 _She must have moved them_ , he thought. Finding himself forming a smile on his tired lips, he clued in to her actions. She must have not wanted him to strain himself from his injuries. Gathering himself, he walked towards the chair where his shirt and belt were placed. A windy howl rumbled against the window. He noticed as he turned towards it that the snows from the night had stopped, replaced by the cold winds of morning.

The belt broke the room's silence as it buckled into place, his gourd of sand fastened carefully at his side. As he put his arm through one of the sleeves of his shirt, he felt his wound twinge in pain. The wound was still fresh, the skin barely healed underneath his bandages. It had been weeks since the battle, but it still ached through him all the same. The sake made him forget about it the night before, his focus on being with his bride-to-be. Clutching the wrappings over his stomach, he bit his tongue to quell a curse on his breath.

"Let me help you,"

Turning to the open door, he saw a dressed Nomasaki walking towards him with a soft smile on her lips. Gingerly and weary of his wound, she helped guide his other arm through the sleeve, her nimble and delicate fingers fastening the buttons of his shirt for him. Her touch was soothing and doting, every movement riddled with care.

"Just because you're the Kazekage," She smiled. "It doesn't mean you have to do everything by yourself."

When she was done, he gave her a nod and smiled back. "I know." Watching her sit on the edge of the bed, his glance turned curious. "Is your father back from his hunt?"

"He's waiting for us in the chambers." She said. "He's seeing the Yamamori clansmen of the village now, it shouldn't be too long." As he sat beside her, she rested her hand under her chin and smiled at him. "Did you have a good rest?"

"Yeah." He nodded, looking towards the floor in thought. "It's been weeks since I've slept… but the journey certainly helped. The snow and the cold… I'm used to it by now, but uphill it's still a battle for me to put up with."

Striking her with his words, she paused for a moment. Moments later, she was shyly giggling to herself. Warmed by what he said, she could not help but laugh from the happiness he gave her. As someone who did not like the cold at all, hearing him say he was used to it made her feel full. He truly did love her a lot – snow, cold, and everything in between.

"What's so funny?"

Standing up, she nodded as she prepared to take her leave. "Nothing. We should go, I can sense the meeting is done. Anyways, my father is expecting us -,"

Rising from the edge of the bed, he cradled her face in his palms and kissed her softly. Her hands held onto his shoulders gingerly in embrace, the memory of their night in the bed of furs still beckoning to them to go back. Even as they embraced fully clothed, their thoughts were quick to echo desire. As their lips parted in silence, he looked lovingly into her eyes, caressing her cheek with his fingers.

"You're right." He agreed with a sigh. "We have to leave for Suna by noon if we're to make it back before morning."

She smiled up at him timidly, her eyes gleaming. "We could always stay longer if... you want. Surely, if the Kazekage wanted to stay an extra night."

The bed behind them exerted an almost gravitating presence, the warm pelts of fur and the soothing comfort calling to them in the back of their minds. Glancing back towards it, Gaara returned his gaze to her with a light smile.

"No, that's alright." He assured. "We shouldn't keep your father waiting."

With a sweet laugh, she agreed. Placing their cloaks over their shoulders, they slid the paper door closed and started for the audience hall of the village chieftain. The halls were wide and adorned in numerous scrolls and paintings with a guard at every turn, their spearheads glistening from the scarce sunlight that entered through the windows. Reaching the end of the hall, they saw the great hearth was crackling a sleeping fire and the last of the lingering councillors and clansmen were taking their leave.

"Finally! I can look upon my daughter's face," Kyo called. "You as well, Kazekage-sama."

Seated at the altar at the far end of the grand chamber, the chieftain sat atop a cushion made of deep purple fabric and was dressed in his honorable garbs and furs. A fatherly smile was etched upon his aged face, the grey in his orange hair and beard more pronounced than it was the last time they paid a visit. Watching the two take their seat before him on the tatami floor with the hearth at their backs, he chuckled to himself.

"I apologize for not greeting you when you arrived. The hunt took longer than I anticipated… We found ourselves a mighty boar, though. It will be served to the villagers as part of the feast this evening. You're both more than welcome to stay."

"That's very kind of you, but we have to return to Suna." Gaara said, his face stoic and eyes near hidden by the Kazekage's hat. "There's still things that need to be taken care of due to the recent situations that have befallen the village because of Tenbu."

Kyo's eyes grew curious, his fingers fraying through his beard. "I see." Relaxing, he leaned against his arm at his side as he examined the two foreigners. "I'm surprised I haven't received a hawk to tell of your arrival. If I would've known sooner, I could've let one of my right-hands lead the hunt so I could see to you as you arrived at our gates."

"There wasn't really much time," Nomasaki began, a smile on her lips. "As Gaara stated, Sunagakure is in a state of recuperation right now. We can't afford to be away from home for too long, you know how it is."

"You're right," Kyo sighed, chuckling under his breath. "I often forget you're both diplomats instead of just family, being how serious you are. I take it the Kumatsume people have told you of their progress on the tundra?"

"Yes, we're glad to see them flourish. They said our clans are now working together amicably, which is comforting to say the least."

"Yes yes, very comforting. They make for good farmers and good scouts." He guffawed after taking a sip of his tea. "They're not bad hunters either. Ask that boar! One of them accompanied us and they had the finest shot I've ever seen! I assigned them to teach the others their archery tricks and our smiths are looking into the fashioning of crossbows." Seeing his daughter give a brief laugh, he noticed that the Kazekage beside her held a sliver of sternness in his eerie ringed-eyes. Nervousness lingered there as well. "Kazekage-sama, you seem awful quiet. What ails you?"

Not even the shroud of his honorable hat of a Kage could mask his subtle anxiety.

He sat silent before the chieftain, his eyes unmoving from the suspicious hazel glare that examined him. Never knowing a father's care or hovering himself, he was entering uncharted territory. In his thoughts he reminded himself that Kyo was a reasonable man, a chieftain, but still a man of honor and family. Kyo even called himself family when they spoke within the darkened halls of the night on his last visit – but that was about to be tested along with his patience.

Noticing his quiet, Nomasaki turned to her father's narrowed eyes. "Father," She spoke. "Can we have a moment?"

Reading in between the lines of her words, the chieftain glimpsed to his waiting guards. Their armor and furs rustling as they stood, the two spear-wielding guardsmen departed out of the large wooden doors into the snowy morning outside. The room became silent enough to hear a pin drop. Not even the faint crackling of the dimming fire could be heard.

"I'm intrigued," Kyo sighed, leaning forward in his seat. "Does this concern the matter of the alliance between Yamagakure and Sunagakure?"

"No, it's not that. The alliance is fine – more than fine, actually…" She answered, her face calm. Realizing the ring that was hidden on the finger within her sleeve, her heart warmed as she visualized its golden glimmer. "There's… something that Gaara and I want to tell you, before we go."

Growing suspicious, the chieftain studied their faces carefully. "You seem serious… What is this _'something'_ you want to tell your dear old father, now?"

"Kyo-sama,"

Gaara started alone, his voice even and calm. Drawing the chieftain's guarded attention, the floor belonged to the Kazekage. Meeting his intruding hazel glare, Gaara maintained his iron-firm air with a fearless and stern glint to his tanuki eyes.

"As a former citizen of Suna of the Land of Wind, you and I share the same blood… so you must be aware of the village's beliefs and customs." The Kazekage continued. "Sunagakure and its culture are still mired in old-fashioned ways, which is why the Suna Council attempted to force an arranged marriage upon me a few months ago." Turning to Nomasaki at his side, he smiled towards her gratefully. "I… broke the betrothal so I could be with your daughter – Nomasaki," Softly, his hand touched hers. "…because I love her."

Kyo's expression tensed subtly, his brow furrowing. "Where is this going, Kazekage-sama?"

"Father," Nomasaki entered, sensing the rising tension. "There's no need for your guard, everything is alright. More than alright, actually…" Watching her father's expression ease into curiosity, she glanced to her lover and to the golden sand-crafted ring on her finger. "Gaara and I, we are… -," Looking to where her father sat, she gave a gentle and warmed smile. "…we are… engaged to be married."

The chieftain was rendered speechless, the sight of the ring striking him. "… En… Engaged…?"

"We wanted to ask you for your blessing before the marriage." Gaara said, a light smile on his lips as he sat holding his lover's ringed hand. "We're getting married at the end of the summer. It'll be a private ceremony… in the village gardens. We… would like for you to come."

"Married -?" Kyo repeated, the pure surprise still swelling through him. "You're… getting married -?"

"Dad," Nomasaki spoke, her eyes concerned. "I know this may come as a shock, but -,"

Kyo breathed out a laugh, averting his smiling face from their eyes. "So, it's finally happening…" He sighed. "I must say, I'm surprised but… I certainly seen this coming… What a strange thing it is… to be a father to a daughter… Nothing is saddening yet I feel the urge to weep out of happiness…"

Standing up with his crafted wooden cane, the chieftain descended the steps to meet them as they rose from their seats on the tatami floor. Placing his hands on the cane's hilt, he gave an iron-firm glance to the Kage in the room.

"Kazekage-sama, I hope you're aware that my daughter is a strong and fierce young woman. She is to be loved and cared for unconditionally. Nothing less."

Gaara nodded, the stoic air painting his eyes. "Yes, I know."

"And Nomasaki," Looking to his daughter, he suddenly felt the urge to shed tears. Keeping them at bay behind a concerned expression, he studied her soft eyes and happy face. "Are you sure this is what you want? To be a wife – a Kage's wife, at that?"

Smiling with a blush across her cheeks, she gave a nod. "Kage or farmer, I will still choose the same man."

Noticing her words, Gaara smiled lightly to himself. Whether he were a 'slob' or a lowly genin, he recalled, she would have loved him anyways. Even if he was not a shinobi at all, even if a simple farmer or civilian, she would have chosen the same each time. In his case, it would have been the same for him. Whether she was a shinobi or not, he knew he still would have fallen in love with her regardless.

"In that case, I give you two my blessing." Kyo bowed his head, a warmed smile etched across his bearded face. "I wish you happiness in the years to come." Near brought to tears, Nomasaki held her father close. Resting his head on her shoulder by the furs of her cloak's hood, he hid his emerging tears of joy from sight. "How your mother would've been honored by this… I know she'd be overjoyed as much as I am…"

She nodded, keeping her eyes shut. "Yes…" She said, quietly. "Thanks, dad."

* * *

Flurries fell slowly from the white skies above as they followed the winding path down the hillside. Standing tiredly by the inn's storefront, Naruto noticed them in his view. Relieved to see their familiar faces once again, he started towards them.

"How did it go?" He asked, pausing as they met. "I see you're in one piece!"

Gaara could not help but give a relieved smile. "It went better than expected."

Nomasaki smiled warmly as she felt Gaara put his arm around her, his hand comforting and firm on her shoulder. Leaning closer within her fiancé's hold, she turned to him and placed her hand over the cloak that covered his chest. "My father gave his blessing," She looked to Naruto kindly. "All went well. Now we can return home and relax."

"There's still the council and the Sand Priests…" Gaara reminded in her ear, reluctantly.

She jolted, glancing back. A blush found its way across her cheeks. "O-Oh, right… I forgot about them."

Giving a brief laugh in the cold, Naruto smiled widely at the two. "Don't forget to send an invitation!" He chuckled. "It was nice to see you guys, but I should get going soon or else Kakashi-sensei will send the ANBU after me! I'm already a few days behind, any more and I'll be in hot-water."

"You're alright to go by yourself?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, fidgeting with his heavy cloak. "My hangover's mostly gone, but I'll be fine! Konoha is still a four-day journey from here though, so I'll mostly likely be stopping along the way."

With a calm-faced nod and stoic eyes, Gaara bid him farewell. "Safe travels, Naruto."

Stretching his arm into the cold air with a wave, the blond-haired Konoha shinobi started down the snowy path eclipsed by the frost-covered trees. In only moments, his silhouette disappeared from their view into the white of the snowy mountain winds.

"Gaara,"

Catching his attention, he glanced to his side. Standing silently with eyes locked towards the mountain road ahead, an expression of hidden sorrow painted Nomasaki's face. Her purple eyes were longing yet still as water, the pain of loss dangling within their hue.

After a silence, she finally spoke. "Before we go, there's… something I must do."

* * *

The trees of tall firs and spruce surrounded the white meadow as they entered, their branches covered in fresh snow and ice.

A single cherry blossom tree stood in the center, its pedals as blue as frost itself. A strange sight to behold. Dotted against the white land were the tombstones of the mountain dead, their mortal names etched and carved onto the grey stone. Stopping before a tombstone at the far reaches of the snowy meadow, they stood in shared silence.

"Is this her?" Gaara asked.

"Yes," Nomasaki nodded. Sitting down onto the cold snow below, the fur of her cloak kissed her cheeks as she brought herself to smile at the grave. "When she died, I was only ten. The villagers almost didn't have a funeral for her out of their held fear… but they decided to bury her anyways. I lit her pyre and stayed until her ashes were buried. How pitiful I was, orphaned at such a young age…" Her heart saddening, she closed her eyes. "I didn't come here last time I paid a visit. I regret it… but at least I'm here now."

Empathizing with her grief, he read the grave's faded inscription. The frost and winds covered most of the etchings, the ice hardened and frozen over the name that once belonged to her deceased mother. Carved lower on the headstone's epitaph were the kanji for the Yamamori clan, the inscription 'wolf' beside it.

"What was her name?"

"Mikomi." She said. "She told me my grandparents named her after their hope the clan would return… their prospects for the future… I wonder what they were like, if they were good people…" A faint chuckle passed her lips. "If only they were alive to see the clan now and how things have changed for the better. It's funny, in a way."

His eyes sharing a glint of sorrow, he watched her touch her hand against the stone. "Do you think your mother would have approved… of us? Knowing I'm of Suna and a different clan."

Another faint laugh passed through her lips, amused by his question. "She would be ecstatic, you're a Kage! She would've been over the moon!" She glanced to him, a blush warming her cheeks in the cold. "I know she would've loved to meet you, because of how much you mean to me." Looking back to the headstone, her smile faded as her heart grew nervous. "What of… your parents?" She asked quietly. "Would they accept me? Or… would they not… due to my 'half-blood'?"

"My mother wouldn't care. She would've loved you as if you were her own," Averting his eyes, he looked to the side, his ringed tanuki-eyes closed halfway. "My father, on the other hand… he would need time to accept. He was old-fashioned and unorthodox in his beliefs, from what I gathered anyways."

"I understand." She said, her voice even. "I didn't think so, considering in his eyes his jinchuriki-son would be marrying a werewolf, essentially."

"A tanuki."

Surprised by his words, she turned to meet his loving glance. Her eyes widened and cheeks still red, she could not help but smile back. His tailed-beast may have been a tanuki, but he also looked like one as well. The resemblance was uncanny around his mysterious brooding eyes, drawing her in since first glimpse. Turning back to the headstone, she felt the fur of her hood caress her reddened cheeks in the cold mountain air.

"So a tanuki fell in love with a wolf," She smiled. "Now that's something you don't hear every day."

As the snow gently fell from the skies, she reached into the pack strapped the hip of her kimono. Recognizing the inscription, Gaara watched her pull out an old and aged scroll. Its paper was torn and broken, the character for 'wolf' was still plainly seen upon the parchment's wrapping. It had been years since it last saw the light of day, not since the last war that claimed the life of the great wolf she once called her guardian.

Hanone.

Wide-eyed, he saw her hold it in her hands. "That's -,"

She nodded her head, looking down at the ancient scroll. "This is the oldest remnant of my clan – the scroll that once contained the summons of my people over generations…" She spoke. "Hanone was the last one, he told me. The last of his kin died out before the times of the villages came upon the world… hunted by enemies and poachers alike." Sorrow filled her violet eyes once more, her heart wrenching silently in her chest. "He hated humans, yet he gave his life protecting me… It's only fitting I let him rest with her."

As the mountain winds of the approaching afternoon rose with the soft snow of the north, she stood and placed the ancient scroll before the solemn grave. Glancing back to it one last time, the sadness rose into her throat. Her eyes glistened, holding back the tears that beckoned to stream down her cheeks. Pride soon replaced sorrow, allowing her to push back the tears with a light smile. Meeting the face of her lover, she nodded subtly and joined his side.

Leaving the graveyard and snow behind…


	71. Under the Desert Sun

**_Author's Note (2020/06/24):_** Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait for this chapter. I'm the worst at scheduling these as writer's block seems to show up when I least expect it! On a good note, only two more chapters left and his monster of a ~300k story is done forever! I'm so excited to reach the ending but it's also bittersweet as it's been one hell of a rewrite project that I put a lot of time into. The things I've learned from writing this will definitely follow me through future stories as I gain more experience - which in itself is invaluable.

I've also come to realize my fic is now over 100 favourites here on FFN, so thank you all so much for reading!

I'm getting busy now that lockdown is slowly lifting, so I may not have as much time as I hoped to write more fanfiction, but I will try to post the last two chapters soon. That being said - stay safe, wear your masks, and have a great summer!

 _ **(...see end for more notes)**_

* * *

 ** _Content Advisory:_ **smut

* * *

 **Chapter 71  
** **Under the Desert Sun**

* * *

Stunned and confused, Nomasaki sat wide-eyed and mouth gaped at what she just heard.

"Is this… really what I have to do?"

Seating across the floor from her soon-to-be sister-in-law, they filled out the invitations one by one. A pile of parchment was messily stacked between them, about to fall at any second from the uneven pillar that was set. The Kazekage's wedding ceremony was hoped to be an extravagant affair, but the Fifth Kazekage insisted there was to be a small ceremony. Nothing more, nothing less. Kankuro was hoping for the extravagant, but Nomasaki was relieved it was to be intimate. She was nervous enough as it was.

Groaning under her breath, Temari facepalmed. "I've already explained it twice already…" She grumbled, fidgeting the pen. "Jeez, Nomasaki… I didn't think this would have you so frazzled. You're a jonin for god's sake! You've done far scarier things than this!"

"I know, but… -," Shyly, Nomasaki gave a pleading glance. "Can you explain it to me again, Temari? Just so we're clear."

Seeing the anxious confusion in her pale face, Temari sighed in surrender. "Alright…" Resting the pen against the invitations at her lap, she eyed her friend sternly. "So, what you need to do is you need to go to the temple located near the monastery in the north end of the village and present yourself to the Sand Priests. They will say a chant and you repeat what they say, then they give you their answer after judging your spirit."

"Judging… my spirit?"

Bewilderment.

Temari nodded, her expression dismayed and averted. "It's part of the ritual. They want to make sure you are right to be wed, or so the traditions state." A brief laugh escaped her. "I'm so glad Konoha doesn't have anything ridiculous like this…"

Stunned, Nomasaki looked on silently.

Shortly after, she began to laugh as sweetly and loudly as her lungs allowed. Stress turned to laughter, and laughter soon turned to howling. Keeled over on the floor, she snickered with her wolfish canines as pronounced as ever. Temari could not help herself, and soon after the sight she laughed as well. It had been near a month since her last visit to her homeland, and she was due for a good notion of humor.

Clutching her stomach, Nomasaki chuckled. "Stop, Temari – you're going to make me feel bad!"

Snickering to herself, a thought suddenly rang through her mind. "Oh, and you have to wear red!" Temari blurted, the laughter ending. "It's a sacred color. It's the color of the desert gods and is said to protect from oni and dark spirits, or so they say… It's also the color of love, so make sure it's a red kimono. Not burgundy or orange – red."

Looking down to her lap with a calming sigh, Nomasaki relaxed. Chuckling the last of her wind into her sleeve, she took in a breath of easy air. With the fading of the laughter, her mind remembered what she desperately wanted to forget. The ritual for blessings. Gaara was not a religious man – no one she knew was – but it was his culture, and her father's culture. Surely, she had to hold some belief in it, but all she could muster was the name of the god of death her mother told her in stories and the Sage of Six Paths who was said to have given the Yamamori and the Kumatsume their ancient kekkei genkai. She remembered the sight of the sunken statue in the golden dunes of the endless desert, its fingers outstretched as if trying to grasp the sun. The desert gods never answered her prayers nor her pleas before – why would they listen to her now?

"All this work just to marry Gaara…" She said, quietly. "I never knew anything about this…"

"Does Yama have any traditions like this?"

Smiling, she shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Just that the women wear a white layered kimono and the parents are asked for their blessings before the marriage. My mom told me once."

"Do you have a wedding kimono picked out?" Temari pressed, an interested smirk on her lips. "Are you wearing one from Yama?"

A blush spread across Nomasaki's cheeks. Warmed, she averted her bashful face and nodded. "Yes, but don't tell Gaara or anyone. I… want to keep it secret."

Smiling back, Temari watched her blushing friend sort through the invitations timidly. Remembering a distant thought, she became annoyed. Having traveled to Sunagakure for a diplomatic affair, the absence of Kankuro and the puppet corps' scrolls from the joint-training program irked her. She would have to depart for Konoha in the morning – with the intel or not.

Dismayed, she shot her head towards the door at their backs. "What's taking them so long?" She scoffed. "I swear – since my last visit Kankuro's been laxer than ever! I'm surprised Gaara hasn't flipped at him yet."

Starting down the hall to the Kazekage's office, Temari and a reluctant Nomasaki saw the door open ajar. A hearty laugh and a giggle could be heard. Curious, they looked to each other as if to say, _"You first,"_ and _"No, you first"_. Awkwardly, Nomasaki hesitated to enter after having sensed the chakra in the room. Gaara was far away, but his brother was nearby – and another was, too. With an exasperated sigh, Temari turned the doorknob and pushed herself in. She found herself shocked and startled by the sight – and then rightfully annoyed. Furrowing her brow, she swore she felt a twitch.

"Hello… you two."

Caught in the act, Kankuro whipped his head towards the door with his face blank and cheeks reddened. Standing close beside him, Meiyumi froze, her cheeks flushed pink and brown-eyes wide from the eye contact she got from the Kazekage's stern and powerful older sister. They were in the middle of a 'gripping' conversation no doubt, flirting their way to finishing their assignment reports together. Temari was not pleased.

"Uh… hi, Temari." Kankuro could say no more, his sister's glance rendering him silent.

Frantically, Meiyumi gave a nervous bow of her head. "T-Temari-sama -!"

Entering timidly behind her, Nomasaki hung around the doorway. "Temari, this is why I didn't want to go in…"

"Where's Gaara?" Temari demanded, ignoring her. "The council meeting is about to start in less than ten minutes! I need those papers before I leave to Konoha."

Kankuro coughed into his fist, brushing off his embarrassment. "He's at the gardens."

"The gardens?!"

"Yeah, he postponed the meeting until later." Kankuro nodded. "He said he had something to do."

"Ugh… fine." She grumbled. With a sigh, she glimpsed to the timid blonde behind her. "By the way… you'll be going to the temple by yourself, Nomasaki."

Taken aback, Nomasaki felt her heart jolt. "W-What? Why -?"

"Gaara must've forgot to tell you. It's bad luck to see your bride before the ceremony, but even worse luck to see her before being blessed by the priests." Temari explained in a calm voice, turning to meet her nervous expression. "Maybe he knew?"

"Ah, the priest's blessings. You're doing that old thing?" Kankuro mused, curiously. "Good luck."

His words did not help. Her violet eyes pleading, she pressed a final time. "Temari, what of the Sand Priests? I've been in Sunagakure as an emigrate for seven years and I'm still not aware of the culture… Would they give you their blessing knowing I'm not of the faith of the desert gods?"

"They'd have no choice. Gaara would see to that." Temari scoffed, smirking lightly. "It's bothersome, but it won't take long. Come, I'll help you get ready,"

"W-Wait, Temari -!"

Before Nomasaki had a single moment to process, Temari grabbed her by the hand and whisked her out the door. Fumbling she exchanged a stunned glimpse to Meiyumi as she disappeared into the wide corridor outside. Her expression appeared as if to say, _"Help me"_.

The temple in the village's north was awaiting for her arrival, gods or not.

* * *

Patting down the orange soil around the flower's base, Gaara made sure to be gentle.

Isolated from the demands of office work and his responsibilities, the Kazekage retreated to his greenhouse within the estate's gardens. The glass surrounded a bastion of beautiful blue flowering plants, dozens arranged upon the shelves. The desert may have claimed the land with its endless dunes, but where the scarce soil lay it was surprisingly fertile to the flora that grew from its orange sands. The snow lilies were no exception. Having found some seeds on his last visit only days ago, the mysterious blue flowers took a great liking to their new home within the greenhouse and its shelter from the sweltering sun. Striking his intrigue, its petals shivered against his reaching fingers, the cold emanating from them even in the desert. It was the same as his bride from the mountains. Interrupting his comforting thoughts, he heard someone approach the entrance behind.

"I knew you'd still be hanging around here," Kankuro said, leaning against the doorframe. "The council is still waiting for you. They're really pissed you're delaying this."

Focusing on tending to the flowers, Gaara paid no mind. "I'm not delaying, just toying. They have to remember I don't bend so easily. I'm the Kazekage – the village isn't run solely by the council and some elders are due for a reminder."

A scoff passed Kankuro's smirked lips. "Temari kidnapped your fiancée. Aren't you worried?"

"Why should I be worried? They're just priests. If they don't give their blessings, we'll elope. Problem solved."

Near speechless, Kankuro looked wide-eyed and stunned at his younger brother. "So, you really want to get married, huh… I must say, I'm shocked." Raising a brow and crossing his arms against his chest, a smirk etched itself on his lips. "What about that heir-nonsense? Are you taking care of that -?"

Gaara jolted.

His hands twitching against the flowerpot, he shot his sibling a dismayed and blushing scowl. "That's not to be discussed here -!" Turning the tables, he returned his attention to the blue flowers. _Two could play at this game_ , he thought. "Anyways… I've noticed you've been spending more time with Nomasaki's friend, Meiyumi. What should I make of that?"

"Make of what -? We're just -!" Masking his brightly blushing face, Kankuro averted his glance disgruntledly. Even with his purple face-paint, his fluster was still easily seen. "N-Never mind that! The council is waiting, Gaara. We should leave."

A sigh passed through his lips, submitting at last. "Alright," Meeting his brother's expression as he walked past, his face hardened as if iron. "Let's get this over with…"

* * *

"Absolutely not!"

The vitriol and discourse erupted among the council chamber. Seated with a glare, Gaara listened to their ramblings while a scowling Kankuro stood close beside him. The giant stone statues of the past Kazekage looked down at the quarreling in silence, their stone bodies rebuilt and carved anew while the bare bones of the chamber still had scaffolding near its walls. The vote on the marriage was passed by nearly the entire council. Most were hesitant at first, but the starting words by the head councillor Zarō encouraged the others to reconsider their stone-firm stances. The blood of Rasa the Fourth was to be protected, even if it meant being mixed with that of a foreign clan. They chose the possibility of survival instead of imminent extinction – a fair choice, at that.

Before the motion could be closed, a disgruntled elder stood from his and yelled his stance again, drawing the loud discourse from the councillors that neighbored him. Shōta was his name, an old councillor who often lurked amongst the library. Unmoving in his corner, he continued to shout his grievances of losing the last of the great family of the desert.

"Please keep your voices down!" Baki shouted, slamming his fist against the table's surface. "This is a place for discussion!"

Zarō gave a disconcerted glare. "Shōta-sama, all the other councillors unanimously agreed to the union of Kazekage-sama and his betrothed. Why are you rescinding?"

"I rescind on behalf of our village's customs!" The elder shouted. "It's unheard of for such a thing, let alone within the near-extinct Kazekage clan! I hereby rescind my vote on your marriage… which is still not approved of by council, I would like to mention!"

Kankuro gnashed his teeth, his fists clenching at his sides. "Why you…!"

Prompting him to refute his path to the councillor, Gaara lifted a palm of halt. "Kankuro, don't." He said firmly, glancing to him. "Let me hear what he has to say."

As the stone Kazekage watched behind them, the elder looked the young leader in the eyes with contempt deep in his heart. "Gaara-sama, with all due respect… This relationship you have to Nomasaki-sama of the Yamamori clan started as a defiance to an arranged political marriage to strengthen an alliance with the once-powerful Hoki Family… but it has come to pass that the relationship with this woman has become a political marriage in turn! Her father is chieftain of Yamagakure… an outside village!" He slammed his palms against the table in anger. "This potential union between Yamagakure and Sunagakure not only fosters a new political alliance between the lands, but it further jeopardizes the state of Suna! If an heir is produced from this union, the child could be lost to Yama – leaving our own village with no successor!"

Gripping the wooden edge of the council table, his rage seethed through his furrowed brow. Drawing the ire and silent glances from the other councillors, the room echoed with a sour vitriol.

"For generations, the Kazekage clan has kept its bloodline pure within Suna to maintain authority and strength in the village. However, Temari-sama plans to marry a man of the Nara clan from Konohagakure. Kankuro-sama is childless and is not interested in finding a wife." Glaring towards the young Kazekage, the anger boiled within him. "…and you...! Gaara-sama,"

Gaara glared at him in return, his rising anger contained behind his narrowed eyes.

"You have proposed marriage with a woman from an outside village and clan that possesses a bloodline of its own manifest!" Shōta yelled, slamming the table repeatedly. "Not to mention, she was once an agent of the resistance – a spy for the disgraced Kenzō who caused the destruction you see around us! She committed the highest treason! I can't sit idly by and watch our village fall apart because some foreign-born mutt seduced our Kazekage -!"

"Hold your tongue, councillor… if you value it." Gaara shot back, his voice as sharp as steel. "This may be a sacred place, but I swear if you utter another word, I won't be merciful."

"E-Ebizo-sama!"

The room fell into a sudden silence.

Surprised, all eyes turned towards the doorway to witness the elderly man enter. Nearing eighty-years, Ebizo the Grand Elder had seldom showed up to council meetings from his weakness and achy joints, leaving many to fear for his health and longevity. But from the news of the impending marriage of Rasa's youngest, he surprisingly found the strength to make the journey from his residence to the Kazekage's estate. Pacing himself, he paused before the grand wooden table and the councillors that were seated around it, his hands folded at his back and his face aged and calm.

"I trust the decision is still yet to be decided?" Ebizo asked, directing his attention to Zarō.

"Yes, Ebizo-sama," Zarō nodded. "We were nearing the motion, but Shōta-sama has some grievances."

"Grievances?"

"Honorable Ebizo-sama!" Shōta yelled, drawing the elder's attention. "Tell the council to reject Kazekage-sama's engagement to the foreigner! We need an elder's voice on the matter – a Grand Elder's voice!"

"Very well," Ebizo nodded. "I'll see to it you get an answer." Looking towards the young leader seated at the table's head, he noticed an air of discontent within his expression, his ringed-eyes averted. "Kazekage-sama," Ebizo spoke. "With all due respect, your engagement to Nomasaki-sama was indeed unexpected and a surprise to us all."

"Unexpected, yes." Gaara brought himself to answer. "But the council has been aware of the relationship since before the spring. They had even tried to push marriage on us earlier, and for some reason they are shocked by the announcement I've made today before the council."

Ebizo stepped closer, his eyes hidden from his grey brows. "I see. Kazekage-sama, I trust you chose your bride wisely considering you already refused an offer of marriage from the council. I understand this was the reason?"

Averting his eyes, the Kazekage nodded curtly. "Yes."

"I also understand that this woman was once an agent of Kenzō many years ago… and was tried with treason but was pardoned – by you." Eyeing the listening councillor, the elder's expression remained reasonable and calm. "I can understand your concern for this, Shōta-sama. Believe me, I can."

As their eyes watched the elder step back towards the base of the towering Kazekage statues in the chamber, tension in their patience rose. Looking upon the council with a light smile on his wrinkled face, Ebizo made his decision.

"But who are we, as stubborn old-folk, to decide of this union?" He said, eyeing the listening young Kazekage in his view. "Surely, if Kazekage-sama has fought this far with his words to the council, there is love here. Love is essential for a long and happy marriage if it is to be fruitful - and not to mention, the bride may be foreign-born but she carries the blood of our village in her veins from her honorable father. An alliance by marriage to Yamagakure is not a bad idea either. Very practical, actually. In regards to her clan, the bride is a half-blood – so if a heir is produced, we can rest assured that the Kazekage clan's genes would remain strong. I have no qualms with this proposal."

"E-Ebizo-sama -?! What are you saying?" Shōta stammered, stunned and aback.

Unfazed, the elder rose his palm for all to see. "As Grand Elder of this village, I vote in favor of this union." Before taking his leave, he gave the young ruler a light smile. "Best wishes to you, Kazekage-sama. I wish you happiness in your marriage."

Hidden behind the guise of his closed hands as he rested his elbows onto the table, a smug smile formed on Gaara's lips. He won. Once the elder was escorted from the room with his attendants, Shōta let out a grumble and reluctantly returned to his seat in a slump. Glaring bitterly, he glimpsed at his village's leader in held distaste.

"Not the answer you wanted to hear, Shōta-sama?" Kankuro smirked. "You look as if you want to say something. Anything else you'd like to add?"

The councillor struck his fist briefly on the table's surface. "N-No!" Biting his tongue, he averted his frustrated glance away as he found himself raising his palm in favor. "I'll be damned… As an elder councillor, I… vote in… favor of this… union…"

"This matter is settled, then." Gaara spoke, drawing in their attention. "Thank you all."

* * *

The temple was unlike anything she had ever seen.

Standing tall against the blue skies, the towering structure adorned in red and gold stood out from the clay and stucco that stood at its sides. Two armed monks stood before the giant iron doors, only stepping aside for her to enter. It was surprisingly dark, the only light being of the candles which were lit scarcely down the mosaic floor. Timidly, she kept a calm face and shuffled in her steps to get to where she was told to go. Dressed in the red kimono Temari fetched for her, she felt strangley uneasy. Red was never her color, the white silk layer underneath her only comfort. Wearing a gold obi across her waist, she made do with the liberating and loose feeling of the fabrics, the cool air of the corridor caressing her neck and dancing to her shoulders as she walked in the dim light.

Making it to the end of the hall, she found herself amazed at the sight. A giant tea kettle was sitting atop a pedestal, its outside ancient and riddled in sand. Surprising her senses, she thought she briefly sensed the chakra of Shukaku lingering to it.

"This is the kettle that first claimed Shukaku the one-tailed tanuki,"

Startling her, she turned to see a monk garbed in red and gold approach her from the far candlelight. Calm-faced and bald, the young man paused before her and marveled at the artefact. The beast would be humored they kept it, she thought, or insulted.

"That was over hundreds of years ago, but we keep the symbol for luck." He turned to her. "The priests are waiting for you. Please, follow me."

Within the tapestry adorned room, Nomasaki found herself seated at the foot of an altar. The monk who escorted her in had disappeared by the closing of the doors behind her, leaving her to vouch for herself against the unknown. Nervously, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Hearing footsteps, she opened them. A dignified and golden garbed priest stepped down from the high altar, drawing her nervous eyes instantly. He appeared aged but not as old as she thought, but his face was as stiff as slate and his eyes looked down at her with a judging presence she could not waiver. He was ancient, nearing eighty years at least. Of all the things she had to do in order to marry – she felt most uncomfortable in that room. Even her chakra was shaken.

"May the desert gods guide you."

Watching the priest take his seat on the cushioned floor across from her, she suddenly realized her cue. Remembering what Temari told her, she timidly bowed her head in return.

"May the… desert gods guide."

Rising her eyes to meet the priest, she saw a glimmer of disapproval. Irking internally, she pushed her nervousness aside. Behind him, two more sand priests sat in silence, their hands folded over their golden laps.

"Before us, a pagan has requested our blessing for a marriage." He began. "Do you forsake your pagan gods?"

She hesitated. "I beg your pardon, honorable priest - but… the god of death? I don't pray to them. It's considered an insult where I come from."

"Well, where we come from the only gods are the gods of the desert. Do you forsake?"

They were unmoving in their insistence, irking her shyness. Humbly, she masked her nervousness as best as she could by using her best calm. "…Yes, I… forsake."

Her crossed fingers in her sleeve held her true answer.

"Good. Now, then… In order to receive the blessing for your union, you must be judged by the gods." Preparing for the chant, the head priest rose his arms and closed his eyes in focus. "With their encompassing arms, the desert gods cradled the earth in embrace and created the desert. With their love, they bore the valley of life of which we live. With their wisdom, they created man from clay and gave us the land before departing for the heavens…"

She felt a twitch rumble through her arm.

Glancing to it, she suddenly realized the warning. Her blood was already beginning to boil. Triggered by her rising nervousness, her power was awakening from its slumber. Out of all possible times. Folding her hands onto her kimono-clad lap, she grasped her arms under her sleeves tightly as the feral blood awoke in its silence. Keeping her composure, she fought to remain human in her expression, her soft face fighting under the shroud of a calm smile.

"Place your hands onto the stone before you to be judged,"

Startled, she looked up to see the elder priest's disapproving eyes. Hesitantly, she released her hands and touch the stone. Her forehead lay against its cool surface, her bowing hiding her conflict of nerves. As she made contact, she felt her chakra become tactile in her fingertips. Was the stone a chakra-stone – or was it all in her anxious mind? At least the cool texture it had gave her solace. She had to maintain her pose for two minutes – then it was freedom. Containing her swelling nerves, she held on for dear life.

"Desert gods – this woman asks for your blessing. Bestow upon her your graces…"

A twitch shot through her chest.

"…As a Sand Priest of these desert lands, I give my blessings on behalf of the gods. Rise,"

Lifting her head slowly from her bow, the priest gasped and fell back from the sight. A wolfish expression lay drawn upon her face, her eyes feral and slanted with a fanged muzzle and likeness to a beast. As he cowered on the floor, Nomasaki calmed her blood and sat composed before him. Human. With a tremble, the priest glimpsed back and saw that the wolf was gone – only a mere woman.

"What in the name of the gods… are you?!" The priest spat, still shaken. "You are -?!"

"A wolf," She said, smiling lightly. "Forgive me, it slips out when I get nervous."

Sitting across from her, the priest eyed her cautiously. "Ōkami -!?" The term struck her curiosity. " _O-Oni!_ You were sent as a test by our gods! You fooled me into giving my blessing!"

"Sir!" Frantically, the young monk from earlier ran into the room. "She's not an oni! It's Nomasaki-sama, the bride of our Kazekage!"

The old and shaken monk was shocked. "Kazekage-sama?!"

"Yes." Nomasaki said. "What he says is true."

Gaped and stunned, the elder priest let out a muffled grunt and averted his eyes from hers. Taken for a senile old fool. "Fine… You may leave, then." Watching her stand and give a bow for her leave, he gave a parting scowl. "And don't you come back! Our gods are watching you!"

Closing the door behind her, she leaned her back against it as she let out a contained deep breath. "And that's finally over with..."

* * *

Navigating through the open halls of the estate was a surreal thing.

Repairs were nearly completed, the beams and scaffolding finally coating the walls and protecting from the harsh desert winds. Not a soul passed her by as she reached the Kazekage's office, not even a single glimmer of chakra passed through her senses. Closing the door behind her with care, she turned to see her fiancé watching her closely. Leaning against the front of his desk, Gaara eyed her curiously.

"How did it go?" He asked.

"The priest thought I was an oni sent to trick him." She sighed. "Still, I managed to get the blessing for us."

"An oni?"

"My chakra acted up," She snickered to herself shyly. "I couldn't help myself, I was too nervous."

Perplexed, he met her soft smile as she walked closer. The memory of the broken window suddenly flickered in his thoughts. "I see."

"How was the council meeting? Did you tell them today?"

He was irked by the question. Averting his ringed-eyes, he placed his hands in his pockets and looked to the side. "There were elders who… hesitated." He sighed. "They brought up not just your clan, but your father and your past ties to the resistance through Kenzō. One of the elders said a Kazekage shouldn't be marrying someone who committed treason."

Guilt swelled into her chest. Sadly, she looked to the floor. "Oh…"

"Ebizo-sama is looking forward to it, however." Gaara said, turning towards her. "He swayed the others to agree to the marriage."

Rising to meet his face, she gave a relieved smile. "I'm… glad."

Holding her close in his arms, he rested his head on her shoulder. "I'm going to marry you, whether the elders want me to or not. I love you, Nomasaki."

"I love you, too." She smiled in embrace. "I'm sorry you had to put up with that… Next time I'll be there to defend myself, I promise." Suddenly, she realized her position in her red silks and kimono. Pulling herself out of his arms nervously, she turned awkwardly frantic. "I'm so sorry, Gaara -! I forgot I can't let you see me wear this – it's bad luck -,"

"I don't care." He answered with a loving glance. "I'm looking at my wife."

Standing in his arms, she looked up to him, her soft smile appearing somewhat playful in nature. "You're looking at someone who's committed treason."

"Am I?" He smiled back, caressing her cheekbone. "How do you plea?"

Leaning in closer, she kissed him ever so softly as she cradled his face in her palms, her lips curved into a smile as they parted.

"Guilty."

Catching her by surprise, his lips crashed into hers with a building passion, his careful hands sliding down to her waist, pulling her closer to his want for her right then and there. Leaving her near breathless, his lips found their way to her neck, gently gliding down to the white fabric that lined her kimono's collar. Feeling his warm breath upon her, she felt as if she could hardly contain herself further. As she lightly gasped in his arms, she found herself reaching for the buttons of his shirt. Her body ached for his warm skin, his careful touch - and he ached for hers. Suddenly, he picked her up in his arms and plopped her upon his desk. Startling her for a moment, she forgot how easily he could lift her.

Looking up at him in his deep seafoam eyes, she smirked playfully. "You can't wait for us to get to our own bed?"

He shook his head, his lips only breaths apart from hers. "This will have to do."

As they embraced each other, a swift stream of sand bounded across the room towards the door – locking it tightly. Their lips parting between heavy breaths as their hands grasped at each other's clothes, the sand swirled towards the curtains, enveloping them in a calm air of brightly covered darkness, sheltered away from the rest of the world. Pressing her hard against him, he kissed her with such passion that made her beg for more, her fingers delicately grazing the smooth skin of his strong chest. As his shirt fell to the floor behind him, he could hardly contain his want for her, resisting every urge to rip off every piece of clothing that claimed her. Grasping her gold obi, he pulled it clean off, ripping her kimono's flowing red fabric by accident. Taken aback by his sudden unbridled strength, she sat stunned for a moment. Sensing the glimmer of her eyes, his hands fumbled at her waist.

"I'm sorry -," He gasped. "I didn't mean to -,"

"It's alright -," She breathed back, smiling in amusement. "It was – old anyways,"

Placing her soothing palms along his jawline, her eyes of calming violet met his of longing turquoise. The sheer intensity of his glance set a fire within her, wanting him to pull her closer to the warmth of his chest. She was near breathless from his touch.

"I can feel - the tension in your hands… I want you to hold me – like you did that time -,"

Tenderly, his callused palms pressed into the red shielding her back. Holding her in his strong arms, she felt her chest flutter from his warm breath upon her neck. His gentle grasp upon her was as protective as it was arousing, leaving her fragile and overcome in his embrace. Resting his head against hers, a soft smile formed on his lips.

"I'll hold you forever, if you'll have me…" He said. "I love you…"

Hearing him say those words melted away the cold within her, washing away any nervousness she held inside. Within the protective grasp of the Kazekage, she could not help but let out a playful chuckle from her lips as she could feel her cheeks redden. Such a surreal situation, she thought to herself as she sat upon his desk. She was once his comrade, his assistant, his traitor, his friend – all into one – and now she was his lover. His beloved. Their recent engagement excited both of them, unable to pry themselves apart despite the fresh wounds that lay healed upon their skin. Even the vile acts of Tenbu were not strong enough to quell the desires they held for each other.

A smile curved onto her soft lips as she kissed him, drawing him in further.

"I love you," She answered silently with a breath. "Gaara."

Softly, his lips met hers. With each kiss he gave against her lips, her canines grew restless, wanting to make their appearance with their full fury – her wolfishness awakening with a vengeance. Her obi ripped away and her kimono open, she felt the gentle glide of his strong hands against her body, following the curves to her smooth firm breasts, his grainy fingers massaging them. Carefully, he pushed the red fabric away from her shoulders, exposing her for all she was. In a smooth glide, his hands pulled back the white silk layer that lay under her kimono. Pleasure building up inside of her from his wandering lips at her collarbone, she felt him reach the perked skin of her chest. Digging her fingers into his red hair, her breaths gasped as she felt his teeth against her. It was becoming too much for her to handle.

Her arms thrown over his neck, she kissed him with a force she never thought she had, her canines nearly escaping from her closed jaws. Her hands trailed down to his chest, delicately tracing his warm skin with her fingers. As her lips met his, her touch trailed to his waist, sensing his burgeoning arousal that lay behind the fabric of his pants. She could hardly wait any longer. Her hands tightly grasped the leather material of his belt, undoing it as she pulled him closer. Parting for only a moment to breathe, she smirked at his surprised glance.

"It wasn't going to undo itself."

"You're right," He whispered, his breath hot upon her neck. "Nomasaki, I want you."

"Have me, then -!" She panted, her violet eyes pleading. "Now –!"

Startling her, he pushed away the items on his desk, sending numerous papers and cacti towards the floor with his forceful sand.

"As you wish."

Chuckling sweetly, she lay her back down upon the cold texture of the desk as his lips met hers, his strong warm body guiding her into position. Unbuttoning his pants, he slid them down as he watched her pull back her dress for his entry – his want for her pounding through him all at once from the sight of her soft skin exposed. She was so beautiful to him, near provoking him to pause and take all of her in before getting lost in her eyes.

Arching himself over her, he entered with a soft glide, her startled gasp provoking a gentle thrust from his pelvis. Grasping her wrists by her golden head, he kissed her forcefully while the desk was slowly creaking underneath from each movement. Her wolfishness gnawing inside while his hands slid to her waist, she dug her fingernails into his strong back, exciting him as he could feel her quiver from pleasure below.

As their lips parted briefly, she lifted herself up to him, seating herself at the edge of the desk once more, her bold dominance evident in her glistening violet eyes as her sleeves sat bunched upon her elbows. Her hips locking onto his, she matched his rhythm smoothly, slowing him down and bending him to her will. His muted grunts breathed into her, arousal hot on his breath. She could tell by the curve of his lips upon her that he welcomed her bid for control – challenging it. Holding onto the desk's corners tightly, she felt as if her hands would break the sides, his pulsating thrusts rumbling through her waist as she felt his kisses travel along her neck and collarbone while his wandering hands gripped onto her scarred back.

Thinking about how wrong the act was thrilled her. She could tell by his gentle and dominantly aggressive grip it was definitely the same in his case. Never had she expected him to be so spontaneous – and the wolf that boiled inside her blood hungered for more. Shaking beneath her, the desk was on its last legs, unable to withstand the force exerted upon it.

"Gaara -!" She panted, her voice quivering. "The desk -!"

"I know -,"

A faint gasp escaping her fanged jaws, her spine tingled by each press of his fingers upon her smooth skin. He was overpowering her, her breathless moans proving it to him. While he slowed down, he met her glistening eyes before him, overwhelmed with the love he felt for her in that moment all at once. Her glance alone was enough to ignite him. The desk churned upon the floor, its noisy squeaking dying down as their breathing became the only sound audible between them.

One of its legs popped out from underneath, scraping against the floor with a loud crash, their bodies shaken from the surprising force of gravity.

"We should be careful not to break it -," He grunted, feeling her back jolt from the noise.

Before he could react, she kissed him forcefully, causing him to grasp her tighter. While her delicate fingers traced his jawline in her palms, the soft fabric of her long sleeves danced across his chest. Gazing deep into his eyes, she smiled coyly at his stunned expression.

"Yes, Kazekage-sama -," She whispered.

"Nomasaki -," He moaned, his voice husky, holding back a chuckle. "Don't -,"

"You know I can't help it -," She gasped. "It's an – old habit… Kazekage-sama -,"

That was enough to set him off.

Grasping her tighter in his arms, his lips traced the soft skin of her neck, his teeth grazing her as she heaved in his tender hold. His warm skin clashed with her cold with each slow thrust, her fingernails digging into his back with a feral hunger. Startling her, she dug into his Sand Armor, the broken grains of sands pouring from his back as she cracked the surface. Never before had he pushed her to such a level, her loss of control taunting her in her core. She felt as if she could make the change right there in his arms, her blood boiling subtly beneath her trembling skin. Surprising her, his movements against her became harder and more aggressive by each moment, pushing her to release her quivering moans into his ear.

Leaning back in his hold, she could feel every nerve within her body fire with pleasure. She could feel the pulsing finale within her reach for the first time, her breathing growing heavier with each passing thrust from his pounding hips, struggling to keep herself quiet. While he continued slow and steady against her upon the creaking desk, his trembling fingers upon her porcelain curves signified his waning strength. She was becoming overwhelming in his grasp, his will at the mercy of her husky moans of pleasure. His face began to crack, the grains of sand fell from his broken Sand Armor and pooled to the floor beneath him. Giving in to his approaching end, he embraced her tighter, rumbling the desk against its broken legs with all he had left.

Clawing at his naked back of broken sands, she erupted.

Seeing stars for the first time, he set her heart aflame in a way he never did before. Breathless, his body jerked roughly against her, a raspy moan releasing from his grit teeth. His callused fingers dug into her soft skin, overcome with the coursing euphoria he felt within her. Quivering in his grasp, her breathing grew faint and scattered, her canines showing themselves with each heave of her fluttering chest. Panting heavily, they pressed their wet foreheads against each other, overcome with the exhaustion and ecstasy all at once. Upon opening their eyes, they became enamored within another's glances, getting lost in a sea of lilac and turquoise.

Their faces warm and flushed, breathlessness had found them.

* * *

 _ **Notes:**_ Oni (鬼) literally translates to "demon", which is a name of a yōkai spirit in Japanese mythology.


	72. The Gift

**Author's Note _(2020/07/10)_ : **I was meaning to post this chapter much sooner but my computer decided to crash on me (rip)

Luckily my hard drive was backed up so I didn't lose everything... but I still lost most of my things (sigh) Regardless, thanks for all the support! I appreciate it, I really do. This ~300k story only has two chapters left so I have to commend anyone who has read through this entire thing. This story is almost as long as a Clash of Kings by GRRM for christ's sake... _oof!_

The last two chapters will be posted before the end of the month. I have a lot going on in my life right now during this quarantine so I will try to have this story completed before the summer is over. I originally planned to have 50 chapters max and here we are at 72... that's what happens when you don't plan ahead!

That being said, I hope you keep reading and enjoying this until the very end - stay safe out there!

(...and back up everything - EVERYTHING!)

* * *

 **Chapter 72  
** **The Gift**

* * *

Heat sweltered against the gold sands.

As summer grew with the dry season, the winds called its name with every strong and powerful breath. Only weeks ago had the elders of the Sunagakure council heard of the upcoming marriage, and the eve of the wedding was to take place in three days' time. It was to be on the last full moon of the summer. Although a private affair, that did not stop the whispers amongst the streets that weaved around the reconstructed Kazekage estate. It appeared as though the attack by Tenbu was only a bad dream, the scars of the past painted over with new walls of stucco and clay.

Far off in the southern reaches of the desert lands, the oasis was a meek and bustling place. Travellers from all over had stopped to rest for water and beds, and gamblers and drinkers flocked to the casinos and sake bars dotted all around. The ruined temple that had been reborn into a resort was especially guarded. Men equipped with spears stood outside its sculpted entrances with their faces masked by dark veils. Further within the suites on the fifth floor, shinobi guards wearing the headbands of Suna and Yama were seen standing before the doors to the grand suite at the hall's end. Seated across from the chieftain inside the lavish suite, the Kazekage watched as his future father-in-law settled himself upon his cushion while his cane rested beside him.

"I must say, Gaara-sama… It's nice of you to join me here today." Kyo sighed with a smile through his grown beard of white. "I know the wedding is in less than three days, but I feel a tad bit nostalgic for this place. I used to come here in my youth when I was a chunin. Tell me, have you ever been to this oasis?"

Lightly, Gaara smiled back. "Only once for a mission. I didn't take in the sights."

"Ah, I see… I take it this meeting isn't political in nature, so what seems to be on your mind that you've asked to meet in private outside of Suna?"

The moment arrived.

Appearing calm-faced, the Kazekage remembered what he rehearsed in his mind. The wedding. Meeting with Kyo was nothing to be nervous about, but it was the very nature of it that beckoned for nervousness. Not only was he speaking with his future father-in-law, but he had to remember he was the chieftain of Yamagakure as well. And patience was not his strong suit. Nomasaki was nowhere near to dissipate the tension with her charm, so he was all he had. Not even Kankuro was around. _Out of all times_ , he thought.

"It's nothing of huge concern," Gaara answered, averting his eyes at first. "But it is something… confidential. I don't want Nomasaki to hear -,"

"How _is_ my daughter doing?" Kyo awed, not realizing he was interrupting. "She sent me a hawk recently, but I haven't had time to read her message due to my recent travels to the Land of Earth and the Land of Claws."

"Oh, well… she's in Sunagakure right now…-,"

Striking a nerve, Kyo raised a brow in suspicion. "You're not… having cold-feet. Are you, Kazekage-sama?"

His words irked him. "N-No no, nothing like that." He said, searching for the right answer. "It's just…-,"

A bellow erupted from the chieftain's bearded face, leaving the young leader puzzled. "I'm only joking, Kazekage-sama! No need for that panicked look in your eyes."

Breaking the laughter, an attendant delicately entered the room with a tray of glistening sake and a dish of sashimi. Resting the silver tray on the table between them, she attendant gave a brief bow.

"Kyo-sama, here is the sake you requested."

Bowing his greying head back, he smiled gratefully. "Ah, thank you! I heard this is the finest place in the Land of Wind for alcohol, so needless to say I'm looking forward to it."

Once the attendant left, the chieftain opened the bottle of sake and poured himself a drink. After pouring the second cup for his guest, he held it out for the Kazekage to take. Hesitantly, Gaara mulled over his decision. Politely, he shook his red-head and declined.

"Thank you, Kyo-sama. But I don't drink."

Kyo scoffed. "You're telling me the Kazekage of the most powerful village in the land is scared of alcohol? _Drink_."

Not wanting to get off on the wrong foot, Gaara reluctantly gave in.

Gulping back the sake, he grimaced from the taste. It was more pleasant than the sake of Yama but the harshness of the alcohol still managed to coat his throat on the way down. Coughing the rest down, he looked to the giggling man across from him. Smiling widely and downing another cup, he suddenly realized the resemblance between the chieftain and his bride. They were both at the mercy of their sake, no doubt. The apple did not fall too far from the tree, if it were any indication. With any luck, he would leave before the drunkenness could begin.

"Now then," Kyo started, folding his arms against his chest. "What was it you were trying to tell me, Kazekage-sama? You said it had nothing to do with cold-feet, so what is it?"

His chance had arrived.

"Kyo-sama," Gaara spoke, looking him firmly in the eyes. "Speaking as one man to another, rather than between leaders… I hope you know I have no intention of cold feet. What I've come here to discuss with you was what we agreed upon recently. The… gift."

Kyo's hand paused on the sake bottle as he reached to it, his eyes wide from the words that reached his ear. Meeting the calm and stern glance of the Kazekage, the chieftain let out a hearty red-faced laugh, leaving Gaara confused in the end.

"Ah, so that's it! I understand now. No wonder you didn't bring my daughter with you!" Pouring himself another drink, he smiled. "Just as we negotiated, the manse should be completed by tonight. Yama pitched in our finest carpenters and artisans to construct it, and the builders from Suna were a great help, too. You should see it for yourself! It's a quaint little manse, perfect for a getaway from the goings-on of that sauna of a village."

"Thank you. As we agreed, my shinobi will embark for Yamagakure at the end of the summer for the training sessions at the Yama Academy."

"Don't you forget my dowry,"

"Dowry -?"

Giving a sake-filled laugh, Kyo could not help but be amused at his bewildered expression. The more Gaara watched the chieftain laugh, the more he realized how alike the man was to his daughter - and their fondness of alcohol. _The apple doesn't fall far from the tree,_ he thought to himself.

"There is no dowry, I'm only joking!" With a sigh, he placed the empty bottle back onto the table with a clang. "And that's excellent, much appreciated. I'm sure the new shared curriculum would improve our ranks and impress our daimyo."

Standing up, the chieftain started for the balcony at his side. Looking out towards the setting sun against the orange painted sands through the swaying silks, the water of the oasis and its flowing river appeared as if a sapphire fissure upon the smooth surface of gold. His hazel eyes gleaming, his heart warmed with pride.

"So, it's finally happening… I knew this day would come, eventually." As he heard footsteps come to a pause beside him, he turned to Gaara with a soft smile. "You seem surprised, Kazekage-sama. You _did_ tell me you called off the arranged marriage because of her. I was the surprised one, believe me." Directing his gaze back towards the immortal desert, he sighed. "Nomasaki is strong-willed and kind… like her mother was, and… she is also a wolf."

His aged eyes saddened, remembering his lost love of the north. It had been twenty years since he left in the cover of night, saying his bitter goodbyes to his bride and their rosy-cheek child swaddled in warm blankets against a night of falling snow. It seemed an eternity to him, the memory of his soft-faced lover being farther from his reach than it had ever been. He told her he would return to her someday – and he did. Visiting her gravesite every snowfall, he told her he kept his promise – and that he was protecting their home. His heart still ached for her every moment, but the comfort of her memory was enough to soothe his sorrows.

He fought back tears with a proud smile. "When I married Mikomi after the Third Shinobi War, my comrades told me I betrayed them… that I married a 'wild' woman… They didn't realize that I loved her. She was… everything to me. When Nomasaki was born and I returned to Suna, they said I defied the village and dirtied the village's blood… all because Mikomi was from the lands of the snow and not of the sand. My years spent in exile after my return never changed my mind, and I know to this day that what they said was wrong. A thousand years in the desert wouldn't change my mind for a second. Love trumps hate, as well as selfish pride. Being with Mikomi taught me that."

Turning to Gaara, Kyo met his tanuki-like eyes with a calm face and firm expression.

"Nomasaki is of the sand and snow. I trust you understand what this means, and that you'll love her no matter the circumstance."

Following the chieftain's gaze towards the desert, he nodded. "Always. I never let old-age thinking change my mind before, it's certainly not changing my mind now. I love her."

Humbled, Kyo looked down with a warmed smile. Folding his hands behind his back, he stepped back into the room towards the sleeping chambers. "In the meantime, consider the beachside manse my gift to you for the wedding."

Lightly, Gaara gave a bow of his head. "Thank you, Kyo-sama."

" _Kyo_." Pausing, the chieftain gave an endearing glance of gratitude. "Remember, you're like a son to me now."

Warmed, Gaara smiled. Only months ago in the snowy lands of Yamagakure, he was welcomed into the family, and now he had gained a father-in-law through the chieftain before him.

In three days, their bond of family would be solidified.

* * *

The night was a calming cool from the desert's merciless summer winds that evening.

Examining the scroll carefully as Meiyumi and waiting Suna shinobi were close by, Nomasaki hesitantly grasped its fold as the sets of eyes watched. The dango stall they sat at was packed with rowdy villagers and celebratory jeering, a stark contrast to the two young women who sat near the back of the business. Calmed-faced, she directed her attention to the idle ninja who stood before their shared table. "A black hawk you say?" She asked. "Are you sure?"

Diligently, the man nodded. "Yes, m'lady. It came with this scroll you hold in you hand, it's addressed to you."

Curious, she turned back to the scroll before her on the table's worn surface. Amongst the clatter of empty plates and bowls, she spread out the scroll slowly and read it with cautious violet eyes. The scroll was as black as the bird that was said to have delivered it, the parchment worn from a long and unknown journey. The moment she saw the name inscribed upon the parchment, a surprised and relieved glint coated her eyes.

Meiyumi leaned over the table in alert curiosity, her brown eyes weary. "What is it?"

"It's... from Hakuto-sama." She smiled, rolling up the scroll in her hands. "She says she wishes us a happy marriage."

A sigh of amazed relief washed over the medic's face, allowing her to sink back into her chair and relax. "Ah, that's nice of her!"

"It is," Meeting her friend's face, Nomasaki could not help but laugh to herself at her thoughts and the irony. "It's funny, actually. She was almost where I am now and I would've been the one sending the letter. If Gaara didn't object to that arranged marriage, that is."

As Meiyumi saw the empty dishes left upon the table, she grimaced in dismay. Looking back to her across the table, she could see the tired gloss that painted her eyes. It was not even an hour past sunset and her friend was already prepared for sleep. It had been Meiyumi's insistance they spend time together before the wedding, but it was Nomasaki's insistance that they leave after dinner. No sake had been drunk that night either, a strange thing for the two of them.

"Are you sure you want to turn in this early?" Meiyumi pressed, concerned. "It's not like you to be so tired at this hour, you're a night-owl for crying out loud!"

Nomasaki let out a light yawn into her palm, smiling timidly. "I've been very busy these last few days, so I've hardly had any time to sleep. I've had missions that were less exhausting than this, believe me."

"You certainly ate a lot... Are you sure you're feeling okay, Nomasaki?" Meiyumi rose a brow, a smirk on her lips. "Don't try to hide it from a medic! I've got my eye on you!"

"I'm fine, really." Nomasaki assured. "This wedding-planning is just taking a toll on me, that's all."

The sound of running against the sands caught their attention, dissipating the pleasant night that was around them.

Two masked ANBU paused before them on the street side, their guard drawn and backs to the two women inside. The appearance of the ANBU surprised her, the flickering of their chakra striking a memory. Some of them felt familiar to her. Since the destruction of Tenbu in the Land of Claws, those remaining of the Suna Tracking Unit had merged forces with the ANBU, forming a single-cohesive force in the arts of tracking, stealth, and espionage. The situation around them may be dangerous, she realized, her gut feeling telling her to tread lightly. Curious, Nomasaki and Meiyumi both turned to see the messenger shinobi direct his face to them.

It was stern and urgent all at once.

"M'lady, we're to escort you to the estate immediately!" He said firmly. "We must depart at once."

Drawing their alert, the Suna shinobi stood by with a stern look as he stiffened his stance, reaching for the kunai in his holster as he turned his back to them. Facing the streets, the guard peered suspiciously as if searching for an unknown threat. Perplexed, Nomasaki followed his gaze. Her senses did not detect any chakra out of the ordinary, clouded by the grogginess of the night and the familiar chakra around her. It was unlike her to be such a way, but she overworked herself and expected nothing less.

She had her wits about her.

"What for?" She questioned, narrowing her lilac eyes in shared suspicion. "Has the Kazekage returned to the village?"

"No, m'lady - an unknown shinobi has entered the village. The scouts who detected them said they may be of the resistance." He answered, prepared to strike at the threat. "Times may be at peace, but the resistance still hangs on by a thread... They're like roaches, they never stay dead for long until more answer the call. Being that you're to be the wife of our Kazekage, you may be a target of theirs as well."

Masking her surprise, she calmed herself with a sigh as she stood from the table. "I see." She smiled lightly. "In that case, I'll face them."

"Nomasaki -," Meiyumi stood, alarmed. "You didn't sense them?"

That was something she wanted to ask herself. Turning to her, she gave a timid glance in embarrassment and shook her head. "No, they snuck through my senses somehow. Strange..." Pondering, she held her hands to her lips, becoming lost in thought as she lightly bit the tip of her finger. "It must be from my fatigue..."

A blast of fire erupted from a distant explosion, the ground quaking beneath their feet.

Panicked, the village suddenly turned silent. Voices soon danced against the cool desert winds, shouting and frantically watching the smoke billow into the darkened skies. It was a threat - and a close one at that. Firmly, the ANBU and the messenger closed in, shielding the two women with their backs. "Stay back, Nomasaki-sama! Kazekage-sama swore us to protect you!"

"No need," Nomasaki assured. Stepping through the shield of shinobi that faced the open streets, she paused and looked to her idle friend. "Meiyumi – let's pursue them."

"M'lady?!"

"Nomasaki, are you sure?" Meiyumi caught up, stunned and frantic. "You're probably their target! Are you able to fight -?"

"We should be able to have a little fun! It's our night out." Nomasaki chuckled, looking back to the fading smoke in the distance that was approaching closer. She shot Meiyumi an excited smile, fear completely absent from her expression. "Just because I'm marrying a kage in a few days doesn't mean I have to retire! It's been a while since our last mission together, so let's go after them and put them in their place before they cause any more trouble."

Speechless for a moment, Meiyumi's expression quickly changed to grinning laughter as she walked to her side. "Ah, this is the Nomasaki I've missed!" Preparing her taijutsu stance, she narrowed her brown eyes as she scanned the shadowy streets around them in the lantern light. "Can you sense them? Are they close?"

Forming a single hand-sign, Nomasaki closed her eyes and let her senses do the work. Focusing carefully, she could feel the chakra all around them. The chakra of the invader was unfamiliar to her, from a land she never knew. Then her senses turned patchy. Empty spaces filled her vision, not even her wolf-like senses could determine why. It was unlike the last time when she was pierced with ginko - but it was as if she were clouded by a new presence altogether. Not even the nature energy in her veins could tell her what was going on. Brushing that aside, she relaxed her arms and looked on to the east where the assassin lay in wait to strike.

"They're hiding from us – or they think they are." She pointed. "Over there!"

A break in the wind from a thrown kunai alerted them as it struck the ground near their feet.

A sizzle soon followed - a paper bomb.

The blast burst against the sand-ridden ground, springing the ANBU on guard to swarm to protect the villagers who panicked and flocked inside the stucco buildings that surrounded the plaza. Unscathed, the two kunoichi emerged from the smoke and debris that fell around them in ambers. Standing, Meiyumi released her earth-shield and took to Nomasaki's side.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah," Standing calmly, Nomasaki watched the assassin crawl out from the shadows, hopping onto the roofing of a nearby building. "There they are!"

Turning back, the gleam of the lantern light reflected onto the man's dark clothes, his mask covering his face as he carried out his deed. Sharing eye contact, the man saw the unbent and unbroken look to her feral eyes, the purple threatening to swallow him whole. He saw a beast within her, and the beast vied for attack, Rapidly, the assassin suddenly made a run for it, bounding atop the roofs of the clay and stucco buildings towards the village's outskirts.

He was making a break for it.

"You're not getting away!"

Following him, she darted towards his path. Feeling the boil in her human blood, she felt her muscles contract and beg for the shifting from skin to fur. Her canines growing inside her jaws, she prepared her body to change in an instant. A heartbeat throbbed through her ears - her heartbeat. Catching her off-guard, she felt her boiling blood suddenly cool and her strength leave her as if in a single breath. Her knees buckled under her, her vision going dark.

Before she knew it, she was losing consciousness.

"Nomasaki!"

Meiyumi's cries seemed so distant, the call for sleep overwhelming her.

Grasping her seamlessly, the sand cushioned her before she could hit the ground. A firm and protective hold soon followed, his warm hands holding her over his crouched lap. Groggily, Nomasaki flickered her eyes to meet his face. As quickly as he appeared with his sands, she did not sense him coming at all. Not even his chakra was detectable in her strange state of mind.

"Are you hurt?" Gaara pressed, his expression gravely concerned.

"Gaara," She murmured, weakly. "When did you -?"

Her words struck him.

Widened, his ringed-eyes looked at her state frantically. "Your senses -!" Reminding himself of the nearby assassin that lurked in the shadows, he rested her onto the sands carefully as she slowly sat up. "I'll be right back." He assured, his face firm and strong as he turned to face the enemy. He glanced to the nearby medic. "Meiyumi, watch over her."

Rushing to her friend's side, Meiyumi nodded. "Right!"

In an instant, he was gone within a burst of sands.

* * *

Moonlight danced against the clay surfaces that painted the village.

Running tirelessly, the masked shinobi continued on their path as fast as the winds themselves. The assassin was near the edge of the village outskirts, approaching closer and closer to his escape beyond the cliffs. Reaching the end, the masked invader suddenly realized how close the cliff's edge was, the rocks falling to the towering depths before him in the dark. Sensing something behind, he whipped his head towards the force that was catching up to him. Before he could react, a burst of sands flew from the shadows - trapping him in its embrace as cold and hard as death. Stepping out from the dark, the Kazekage glared towards his struggling expression.

"End of the line." Gaara spoke, his tone crisp and stern. "Who sent you?"

A masked ANBU appeared beside him, knelt in servitude. "Kazekage-sama, I believe these men are agents of the resistance."

Gaara was unamused. "So it appears." Turning to the ANBU, he gave a brief nod. "Fine then, take them to the interrogation corps and incarcerate them. They can handle it from there. With any luck, there's probably more lurking. Send your guard to the village boundaries just in case."

"Yes, sir!"

In only moments, the other ANBU had arrived and escorted the unknown enemy away in chains. Luckily, the assassin was snagged alive - unlike the others who preferred the use of paper bombs to conceal their secrets forever in death's cold embrace. Irked and dismayed from the sudden presence of the assassin, the Kazekage was left alone to deal with his thoughts. It was only a few days before their marriage, and already an agent of the hidden resistance had crawled out from the woodwork and attempted to strike. He knew they had to tread carefully - even in peaceful times which recently graced them.

Even now they could not turn a blind-eye to possible treachery - even if the times were peaceful.

A shinobi was never safe - and that was the truth.

* * *

Worried-eyed, Meiyumi knelt at Nomasaki's side on the sands as the sounds of fighting in the distance soon quelled. "What happened?"

Holding her hand against her head, Nomasaki felt the grogginess return in a haze of fatigue and dizziness. Averting her eyes to her kimono's lap, she struggled to grasp what befell her. "I… don't know." She fumbled, her voice dry and stunned. "I suddenly felt… faint. My strength left me, and before I knew it I -?"

Startling her slightly, Meiyumi's hands became covered in her healing aura. Touching her arm lightly, the medic felt the chakra within her. "Your chakra feels disturbed, just like that time -!" Meiyumi said, shocked. Releasing her touch, the jutsu faded. "Let me take you to the hospital." She pleaded, surprising her from the suggestion. "Your chakra might be out of whack again like it was that time. You know what happens when your nature-energy gets distorted."

"Oh… okay."

"How are you feeling?"

Startling them both, Gaara appeared through his sands and started towards them. Averting her glance timidly, Nomasaki could not muster the courage to tell him how once again her senses failed. With a sigh, Meiyumi bravely faced him directly as he paused in their path. "She's going to the hospital!"

"To the hospital?" He repeated, his eyes worried and stunned. "What for?"

"My chakra," Nomasaki said, timidly smiling at him as she stood with Meiyumi's help. "It happened again, I think the lack of sleep is finally getting to me."

"Did you want me to go with you?"

She shook her head. "N-No, Gaara - really. It's okay," She assured. "I'll... be home soon."

Raising a nonexistent brow to her reply, he tried his best to shrug off any worry. Watching her stand and walk on her own, she gently wrapped her arms around him. Holding her close, he held the back of her gold head with his palm. His ringed-eyes were still as stagnant water, trying to decode what transpired. As they parted, Nomasaki gave a timid wave to the streets filled with lantern light and village hums. Hoping that her parting smile and wave would relieve his worries, it did not work in the slightest.

Regardless, he accepted her wishes and left to return home to wait for her.

* * *

Sitting in the examination room a few hours later, Nomasaki eyed the doctor nervously as they took their seat with her chart in hand.

Her hands fidgeted at her lap, her chest fluttering in anticipation. The chakra around her seemed blurry to her now, even more so after her blood was drawn. She had to be strong no matter the diagnosis - and the thought that her friend was waiting for her outside was comforting. After a quick scanning of the sheets from her blood tests, the doctor's steady hand paused, drawing her hazy curiosity. Nodding to her, they gave a warm smile and Nomasaki's heart near stopped from the words they spoke. A few moments later after the diagnosis, they parted ways and she wandered out into the waiting area stunned and in disbelief. Her heart filled with joy even still.

All she could remember from what the doctor said to her was _"congratulations"_.

And the wedding was less than three days away...


End file.
